The American Manga Awards celebrate manga creators and publishers who have made significant contributions in manga's popularity, both in North America and Japan.

The award categories and their respective winners are as follows:

Best New Manga

Billy Bat (volume 1) by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki
Publisher: Kana/Abrams ComicArts
Editor: Kristiina Korpus

Best Continuing Manga Series

The Summer Hikaru Died (volume 6) by Mokumokuren
Publisher: Yen Press
Editor: Jacquelyn Li

Best One-Shot Manga

"Cocoon" by Machiko Kyō
Publisher: Viz Media
Editor: Pancha Diaz

Best New Edition of Classic Manga

Mushishi Collector's Edition (volumes 1-2) by Yuki Urushibara
Publisher: Kodansha
Editor: Maggie Le

Best Lettering

Madeleine Jose for Maid to Skate by Suzushiro
Publisher: Viz Media
Editor: Jack Carrillo Concordia

Best Translation

Jan Mitsuko Cash for MAGICA (volume 1) by Yuzuko Hoshimi
Publisher: Kodama Tales
Editor: Haize

Best Publication Design

Wendy Chan for Fruits Basket: The Complete Box Set, by Natsuki Takaya
Publisher: Yen Press
Editors: Danielle Niederkorn, JuYoun Lee

Additionally, the awards inducted two people into the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame:

• Ioannis Mentzas, co-founder of Vertical and editorial director of Kodansha USA (awarded posthumously)
• Chigusa Ogino from Tuttle-Mori Agency's manga team

The award ceremony also honored manga creator Akiko Higashimura (Princess Jellyfish, Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey, Tokyo Tarareba Girls) with the "American Manga Award of Distinction."

Previous recipients of the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame include: manga translation and publishing team Studio Proteus, its founder and editor Toren Smith; translators Dana Lewis, Alan Gleason, and Frederik Schodt; manga artist and letterer Tomoko Saitō; comic creator Adam Warren; and comic letterers Tom Orzechowski and L. Lois Buhalis.

Professionals working in an editorial capacity with North American manga publishers voted to determine the winners.

Deb Aoki (Publishers Weekly, Comics Beat, Mangasplaining podcast) leads the American Manga Awards Planning Committee.

Last year's ceremony took place last August in New York City. The winners included The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All, The Apothecary Diaries, "Tamaki & Amane," Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, The Otaku Love Connection, and Planetes Deluxe Edition.

Source: American Manga Awards ceremony (Bolts)

ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2026 is sponsored by Yen Press. Whether it's light novels, manga, or manhwa, Yen Press has everything you might want to add to your reading shelves! Visit Booth #1701 or YenPress.com for more information!