MyAnimeList has announced that it will hold its 2nd English web novel writing contest titled “I Was Browsing MAL as Usual Then I Realized My Web Novel Could Become Manga” or simply “MAL x Honeyfeed Writing Contest (2022).” The three prompt boards for this round will be School, Rom-Com, and Cyberpunk. There will be a US$3,000 prize for each prompt board, for a total prize pool of US$9,000. The contest will start on June 1, 2022, and the winning entries will be announced in December 2022.

The contest will be held in collaboration with Honeyfeed, an English web novel community operated by qdopp, Inc., and winning entries will be chosen by a panel of judges and a user vote. Winning entries will also be reviewed by Kodansha Ltd. for possible publication and/or comicalization.

This contest was inspired by the voices of international anime fans on MyAnimeList. Many anime fans feel that only Japanese-authored works have a realistic chance of becoming anime, while foreign-authored works stand little to no chance. This contest was created as a stepping stone to fulfilling that dream of someday having one’s ideas made into an anime in Japan.

This contest will also contribute to spreading Japan’s anime culture even further and deeper than ever before. We believe there is a need to create an ecosystem where overseas anime fans can not only watch finished products but also contribute to the anime creation process.

Contest Schedule (may be subject to change)

Entry Period: June 1 to September 1, 2022

Judges Voting Period: September 2 to November 2, 2022

Public Voting Period (Finals): November 3 to November 30, 2022

Winner Announced: December 12, 2022