Okayama City Literary Award and Citizens' Fairy Tale Award

The Okayama City Literature Award was established in 1984 to promote culture and art among citizens and to encourage creative literary activities.

It consists of two prizes: the "Joji Tsubota Literary Award" for published literature, and the "Citizens' Fairy Tale Award" for children's stories written by citizens.  

The award was established to honor the outstanding achievement of Joji Tsubota, a native of Okayama City and an honorary citizen of Okayama City, who pioneered a new field in children's literature in Japan. The award is open to professional works and is given to outstanding literary works that depict a world shared by both adults and children. The award has contributed greatly to the development of the Japanese literary world, with many leading Japanese authors having emerged from among the award winners.

It was established in the hope that new leaders in children's literature will emerge from Okayama as citizens experience the wonder of literature and the joy of creative activities. The contest invites citizens to submit their original children's stories for both the general public and elementary and junior high school students, with more than 300 submissions received each year. The elementary and junior high school students are given the opportunity to submit their original fairy tales as part of their summer school assignments, and the festival is operated in cooperation with schools. After judging, carefully selected excellent works are awarded, and the winning works are published in a collection and placed in bookstores.  

For more information, visit the Okayama City Literature Award website.　https://www.city.okayama.jp/bungaku/

Established in 1969. The contest consists of five categories: tanka, haiku, willow, essay, and contemporary poetry, and is open to residents and workers of Okayama City. There are general and junior divisions, and every year more than 2,300 submissions are received from about 1,500 people of all ages, making the contest a popular place for free creative and expressive activities.

For more information, visit the Okayama Citizens’ Literature and Art Festival website.　https://www.city.okayama.jp/bungei/index.htm