Chapter 317: Uemura Prize Results

Sell "New"?

Akiwara Yuto looked at Seto Tamae with some surprise, and the latter explained without haste.

"Akiwara, you also know that Mantan Publishing already has 'Tokyo Youth', so having another 'New' with mediocre sales is meaningless.

If you don't take it over, then Mantan Publishing is prepared to announce its discontinuation, or sell it to some medium-sized publishers."

Hearing this news, Akiwara Yuto subconsciously glanced at her and asked, "Ms. Seto, are you representing the position of Mantan Publishing in saying this today?"

Seto Tamae gave a faint smile, did not respond, and instead said, "That point isn't important, is it? The main thing is, are you interested?"

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a moment and found that what she said was indeed reasonable.

Regardless of what Mantan Publishing's plans were on their side, they were certainly looking to transfer the operating rights of "New" magazine.

Although this magazine had declined to the point of becoming a monthly, it still had twenty thousand readers purchasing it every month, so it had over two hundred thousand in sales over a year.

But compared to "April Youth", this sales figure could only be considered a fraction; however, looking at it as a monthly, it was barely acceptable.

But then again, if he acquired this magazine, wouldn't he be competing against himself?

One must know that the "Furuhata Ninzaburo" series was still being serialized in "April Youth" under his name as the guiding author.

And because of the influence of the TV drama, this work had consistently remained at the top of reader surveys.

"Akiwara, have you decided?"

Seto Tamae looked at him and continued to ask. Akiwara Yuto shook his head and replied, "Sorry, let me think about it some more."

"Alright, in any case, contact me as soon as you've made a decision."

Seto Tamae nodded, then said "See you tomorrow" and left.

She was actually entrusted by an acquaintance at Mantan Publishing to specifically come and find Akiwara Yuto.

Watching her retreating back, Akiwara Yuto vaguely felt that something was not quite right.

Why would they specifically come to find him regarding the sale of "New"?

He thought about it, quickly put the matter aside, ate some food, and continued to converse with others.

To him, the most important thing right now was tomorrow's Uemura Prize.

……

At 7:00 PM the following day, the Uemura Prize award ceremony was held in a traditional auditorium in Kyoto.

Besides the group from yesterday's dinner, many reporters holding long lenses and short cameras had also arrived at the scene.

After arriving at the venue, they used their equipment to aim at the candidates sitting in the front row to take photos, and Akiwara Yuto was the focus of their photography.

Compared to him, the other five candidates with shortlisted works seemed to have become foils for the photo op, only able to sit awkwardly to one side.

"Mr. Akiwara, what is your take on this award ceremony?"

"Mr. Akiwara, how high do you think your chances of winning are?"

For a time, reporters kept trying to bypass the committee staff maintaining order, extending their microphones forward.

Seeing this scene, the staff maintaining order were also helpless; after all, this kind of situation had never happened before the Uemura Prize selection in the past.

Usually, there was a dedicated press Q&A session after the awards concluded.

Seeing this, Akiwara Yuto could only walk forward, bow slightly, and politely say, "Please wait for the committee's announcement, fellow reporters."

Before the award results were released, he did not intend to say any nonsense.

In case these reporters spread rumors that he had already secured the Uemura Prize, it would undoubtedly cause quite a bit of trouble.

Hearing this "official routine" response from Akiwara Yuto, two of the reporters were not satisfied and still tried to step forward to ask questions.

However, four more staff members soon arrived and quickly ushered them out.

Seeing this, the other reporters quieted down and just took photos silently.

Akiwara Yuto was finally able to sit down and flash a polite smile at the lenses.

Ten minutes later, because the award ceremony was about to begin and other guests were entering one after another, these reporters were driven to the locations designated for them by the committee.

"Mr. Akiwara, you've already secured this award, haven't you?" a candidate sitting next to him said sourly.

His name was Mogi Takano, a traditional orthodox writer who had debuted for nearly 30 years and had written over a dozen works.

In his view, Akiwara Yuto could only be considered a junior; if not for the recommendations of Kawai Shinta and others, he wouldn't even meet the seniority standard for joining the Mystery Writers Association.

But it was precisely such a junior who had already been deemed by the outside world as the winner of this Uemura Prize.

Compared to the other party, he himself had been completely ignored by the outside world.

Akiwara Yuto smiled and replied, "Mr. Mogi, I trust the committee's decision."

One still had to say some polite things; since the result was already more or less decided, he should give this "old senior" some face.

Otherwise, saying directly that he had secured the award would be too offensive.

And that candidate named Mogi Takano also understood this principle, so he snorted and didn't say anything more.

Just then, Kawai Shinta also walked over and asked in a friendly manner, "Akiwara, is your acceptance speech ready? Don't say anything shocking again."

Hearing these words, Akiwara Yuto was somewhat dumbfounded.

As the vice-chairman of the Mystery Writers Association, Kawai Shinta asking only him and not others undoubtedly confirmed the rumors that he was certain to win.

Sure enough, upon hearing Kawai Shinta's words, the expressions of the other candidates became much uglier.

However, Akiwara Yuto didn't care; among the other 5 candidates, 3 were traditional orthodox writers, so there was little point in befriending them.

As for the remaining 2, they were from the social school and the unorthodox school respectively, and they probably knew the value of his work.

Akiwara Yuto stood up and said politely, "Don't worry, there are no major publishers boycotting me now."

Things were different from before; he was no longer that unknown writer who had just debuted.

Even if the four major publishers joined forces, it would be impossible for them to boycott him.

Kawai Shinta nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and left.

Because of the precedent, he was worried about whether Akiwara Yuto would take a jab at Keihan Publishing again during his acceptance speech.

But if that happened, it wouldn't look very good for either him or the committee.

After the interlude, the Uemura Prize award ceremony immediately began in earnest.

A female host wearing a black suit walked onto the stage, spoke for about 15 minutes of pleasantries, and then invited the chairman of the committee—an old traditional orthodox writer.

Under the gaze of hundreds of people at the venue, this nearly 80-year-old writer walked tremblingly to the podium, faced the crowd, and read out the final result of this Uemura Prize.

"...Now announcing the list of winners for the 138th Uemura Prize, author Akiwara Yuto's 'The Train' wins this Grand Prize!"