The first volume of Naoki Urasawa’s Billy Bat, published by the Abrams manga imprint Kana, won the award for Best New Manga at the American Manga Awards on August 20. The awards were created by LeftField Media, the creators of Anime NYC, and were presented during an invitation-only ceremony at the Japan Society in New York. This is the awards’ third year.
Jan Mitsuko Cash, who was named Best Translator for her work on Magica, used her acceptance speech to challenge the three largest manga publishers to double their rates for translators, pointing out that the people responsible for bringing manga to English-language readers often work 80-hour weeks, have no insurance or other benefits, and have to wait two months for payment although the bills are due every month. She got a standing ovation for her remarks.
The manga awards were:
Best Publication Design
Fruits Basket: The Complete Box Set, designed by Wendy Chan
Best Lettering
Madeline Jose for Maid to Skate (VIZ Media)
Best Translation
Jan Mitsuko Cash for Magica, Vol. 1 (Kodama)
Best New Edition of Classic Manga
Mushishi Collector’s Edition, Vols. 1-2, by Yuki Urishibara (Kodansha Manga)
Best One-Shot Manga
Cocoon, by Machiko Kyo (VIZ Media)
Best Continuing Series
The Summer Hikaru Died, by Mokumokuren (Yen Press)
Best New Manga
Billy Bat, by Naoki Urasawa (Abrams/KANA)
Shuhei Hosono
The ceremony, hosted by translator Zack Davisson, opened with a special award honoring the Japanese publisher Shueisha (parent company of Shonen Jump) for its 100th anniversary. Shuhei Hosono, Editorial Director of Manga Plus, accepted the award on behalf of Shueisha.
Akiko Higashimura
The Award of Distinction was presented to Akiko Higashimura, creator of Princess Jellyfish, Tokyo Tarareba Girls (which won a 2019 Eisner Award), and Blank Canvas (see “Seven Seas Licenses ‘Princess Jellyfish’ Creator’s Memoir“).
Two people were inducted into the Manga Publishing Hall of Fame: Chigusa Ogino of the Tuttle-Mori Agency Manga Team, who managed the European licenses for Dragon Ball and other manga in the early 1990s, and Ioannis Mentzas, co-founder of Vertical, who died in January 2026.
For more ICv2 Manga Week – Fall 2026 coverage, click here.
Source: ICv2
