2024 American Manga Awards Nominations

Exciting news, everyone! This year, Yen Press has five (yes, you read that right) nominations for the American Manga Awards, and some are even in the same category!

Last year, Delicious in Dungeon was voted the Best Continuing Manga Series, but we are setting our sights high this year and hoping to bring home as many trophies as possible!

Curious to know what titles managed to win over the judges’ hearts? Well then, here are all our Yen Press American Manga Awards nominations!

BEST NEW MANGA NOMINEES

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, Vol. 1

by Sumiko Arai

Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest…until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him—not knowing her crush is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! For her part, Mitsuki generally keeps to herself and avoids standing out at school. But given that she sits right next to Aya, Mitsuki’s all too aware of the other girl’s feelings, and she’s afraid to reveal the truth. So why does she find herself talking with Aya more and more…?

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, Vols. 1-2 available now!

A Witch’s Life in Mongol, Vol. 1

by Tomato Soup

Eight centuries ago, in the latter days of the Islamic golden age, a young girl arrived in the Khwarazmian city of Tus. She was a slave. But she learned. Eight centuries ago, the Mongols blazed across the map, swept Khwarazm into the ash heap of history, and took all they desired from the ruins. They took the girl who learned. So begins the true story of how a “witch,” wielding knowledge as her only weapon, came to hold the greatest empire the world has ever known in the palm of her hand…

A Witch’s Life in Mongol, Vol. 1 available now!

BEST CONTINUING SERIES NOMINEE

The Summer Hikaru Died

by Mokumokuren

“Hikaru’s” unexpectedly violent encounter with the mysterious hamster-toting Tanaka only worsens his already weakened condition. Without knowing Tanaka’s intentions, the boys must act quickly to uncover the mountain’s secrets. Investigating the Indou family’s “sin” will be difficult now that Hikaru’s dad has passed, but they may be able to get some answers out of his closest friend—if Yoshiki’s father is willing to talk...

The Summer Hikaru Died, Vols. 1-5 available now!

BEST ONE-SHOT MANGA NOMINEES

Tamaki and Amane

by Fumi Yoshinaga

Family, love, friendship—love takes many shapes. Modern Day Tamaki is shocked to see her only daughter kissing a female classmate. But as it turns out, her husband, Amane, once had a crush on a boy in middle school… Meiji Period Tamaki and Amane, two students at an all-girls school, become close friends. But when Amane gets engaged, the pair are separated… 1970s Tamaki’s illness has left her without much longer to live. As she tries to make the most of the days she has left, she meets a little boy who seems to be having a rough time, too… Postwar Era Amane, a discharged soldier, reunites with Tamaki, his former squad leader, and joins in on his black-market operations. However, Tamaki has a secret… Edo Period Tamaki has slain his childhood friend Amane’s husband. When she seeks him out again to take her revenge, the wheel of fate begins to turn in a new direction…

Available now!

Stardust Family

by Aki Poroyama

In the midst of a declining birth rate and rampant reports of child abuse, Japan has required prospective parents to pass a test for the right to conceive. The test’s evaluators are children themselves, deliberately behaving badly to provoke couples into an aggressive response and disqualify them on the spot. Hikari is one such evaluator in this system, and he thinks he’s seen it all— that is, until he’s assigned to the Hirokawa family…

Available now!

So what’s next? Well, this year’s awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 21, so make sure to bookmark that date and tune in as the winners are revealed!