The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan is issuing a call for entries from overseas cartoonists to the 8th International Manga Awards. Gold and Silver Prize winners will receive all-expenses-paid trips to Japan to attend the awarding ceremony.

To join, simply print and fill out this entry form and submit two copies of your original manga. The manga should be at least twenty four (24) pages long when printed and bound. Both published and unpublished works are accepted as long as they have been produced in the past three years, and have not won any of the previous International Manga Awards.

Please send entries to PO Box MBE 310, The 8th International MANGA Award Executive Committee, 1F MOF Kanda Iwamoto-cho Bldg, 3-8-16 Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 101-0032. Entries must be received on or before the 31st of May 2014. For a complete list of rules and other details, visit mofa.go.jp.

The winner of the 7th International Manga Awards was “Bokbig” by Prema Jatukanyaprateep from Thailand. This is the second consecutive year that the Gold winner came from Thailand.

Previous winners of the International Manga Awards from the Philippines include Elmer Damaso and Jhomar Soriano whose individual works were selected as Finalists in 2007’s 1st International Manga Awards, and Bronze Prize winner Kriss Sison from 2008’s 2nd International Manga Awards.