"Why are we publishing tankōbon volumes for these two novels so early? They do not have that much serialized content yet. Wouldn't it be better to wait until their popularity has fermented a bit more before releasing collected volumes?"
"Exactly. Even though the results of these two newcomer novels are impressive, they are still only serialized in Fleeting Blossoms. Isn't the company placing too much importance on them?"
"I don't really see a problem with it. Releasing earlier won't necessarily hurt."
"Still, it feels a little strange."
"Maybe upper management noticed that several other publishers have seen the rise of strong new authors in recent years, so they want to aggressively showcase our ability to cultivate newcomers as well.'
"These two high school writers really are talented. If promoted properly, it would be easy to establish an image within Minamijo Prefecture's light novel scene that Crimson Maple Literature values young creators and does not cling to seniority."
Editors quietly exchanged opinions under their breath.
Seeing this, Akira, who was seated at the head of the conference table, finally spoke to clarify things further.
"Starting in the second half of the year, the biennial national light novel award 'The Ascent of New Gods' will begin again. Even though it's only March right now, these two fit the age requirements, have the right conditions, and show genuine potential."
"The company is simply giving them a slight tilt in resources and adding some promotional weight to their tankōbon releases to help expand their influence. The intention is to have them represent Crimson Maple Literature in that competition."
With Akira's explanation, understanding immediately spread among the editors.
"I didn't even think of that. It's already been two years again."
"But even so, the award doesn't start until the second half of the year. Does the company really think that highly of these two newcomers, Airi and Shiori Takahashi?"
"They've been active for less than a month, and the company already has this level of expectation for them?"
"It's not that the company has absolute confidence in them. It's just that, in the past two years, we really haven't had any young newcomers rise up. 'The Ascent of New Gods' looks specifically for authors who debuted within the last two years and are under twenty-four."
"When you think about it, there are barely any writers in our company who meet those criteria."
"So by releasing their tankōbon early, the idea is to boost their results and see if either of them might qualify as a candidate?"
"That's true. Come to think of it, our company hasn't had a newly signed author qualify for this competition in six years, has it?"
"I think the odds are slim. They're just too new. They don't have the influence needed to be selected and represent Minamijo."
"Well, our company really hasn't produced any young rising stars lately. Even if these two end up failing, it's better than doing nothing. A dead horse might as well be treated like a living one."
"The Ascent of New Gods" sounded grand, but in truth, it was not a competition to select top-tier established authors. It was an award jointly organized by several giant publishing houses with nationwide influence specifically to identify and cultivate promising new light novel authors.
Japan's otaku culture was deeply rooted, and each prefecture had its own local awards for rookie authors and similar events. However, those were all regional activities with limited impact.
"The Ascent of New Gods" was different.
Japan had all the prefectures participating, and each prefecture was allowed only three qualifying rookie authors. After fierce competition within their own prefecture, those who emerged victorious would earn a seed spot and represent their region in the national selection.
The process itself was simple.
Write a new novel. The selected seed authors from each prefecture would serialize newly written short or medium-length works in a special magazine jointly published by several major publishing houses, also titled The Ascent of New Gods.
Once serialization concluded, readers would vote and rate the works. In the end, it would be the readers themselves who determined the final winner.
The distribution channels of those major publishers covered all of Japan and even reached overseas markets.
For works participating in this competition, national promotion and sales were practically guaranteed. Even debut works by new authors could sell hundreds of thousands of copies per issue during serialization under the combined push of those publishers' sales networks and marketing departments.
For rookie authors across Japan, this competition was nothing short of a miracle. Their works would no longer be limited by the modest reach of prefectural serialization platforms and would instead be displayed before readers nationwide.
Moreover, authors who performed exceptionally well in this competition often caught the attention of those major publishing houses, gaining opportunities that could completely transform their writing careers.
Historically, many authors who achieved strong results in The Ascent of New Gods were now active at the forefront of Japan's light novel industry.
That, however, was still a distant future.
Crimson Maple Literature did not expect Haruto or Reina to achieve outstanding results in the competition.
For six consecutive years, across three editions of the event, Crimson Maple Literature had failed to even secure a single seed qualification for a newcomer author to represent Minamijo.
Six years meant three competitions and nine possible seed slots.
Yet none had gone to Crimson Maple Literature. Other publishers in Minamijo had begun openly mocking Crimson Maple for being incapable of nurturing new talent.
Now that two genuinely talented newcomers had appeared, Akira's intention was clear. She wanted to tilt some resources their way and see if, over the next six months, their influence could expand enough for at least one of them to secure a seed qualification.
Yukino, as the editor directly responsible for both Haruto and Reina, was honestly stunned.
Crimson Maple Literature was truly treating this as a last-ditch gamble. To begin with, Minamijo's three competition slots were decided by editorial boards from the five major local publishers, based on comprehensive performance data of rising authors over the past two years.
Haruto and Reina had potential, but they debuted less than a month ago. Yet Akira was already setting her sights on them?
"Six months is neither long nor short, but the market can change completely within that time," Akira said after glancing at Yukino, addressing everyone in the room.
"I'm just preparing in advance. If, by then, their results are not as good as expected, the company will naturally nominate other candidates for Minamijo's three seed slots."
But there was also the possibility that six months later, these two might become widely known.
After all, their novels had been serialized for only a short time, yet each had already amassed a considerable number of fans. Who could predict what would happen in half a year?
That last thought, however, Akira kept to herself.
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