JNC Original Light Novel Contest Finalists Introduction

Check out all the amazing finalists in our competition! Read a free preview of the books, and click to choose your favorites so we can see which ones YOU like the most when we choose the winners during Anime Expo 2024!

Also, you can leave feedback on the forums for the authors.

Flower and Knight
Author: Blu Shroom
Having fought in a decade-long war, knight Eirich seeks nothing more than a peaceful retirement away from the battlefield. But before he can do so, he is entrusted with one final mission—escorting an estranged princess back to her home.
Beautiful Daydream
Author: Quadrilian
I am me. I love girls. Maybe that’s a weird way to start things off, but it’s core to my identity. It’s who I am. There’s no better place to start if you’re talking about my story. A story about stories. A story about a single step.
It’s Tough Being a Necromancer
Author: Jan Olexa
Edgar is an apprentice necromancer whose life is about to turn upside down. Join him as he faces horrors from this world and beyond – from bargaining with the dead to fleeing from the Church – all to fulfill his master's ever so unreasonable demands.
ATLAS: Her, the Combatant, and Him, the Hero
Author: Feyblue
When "Hero" is just another job, who fights for those who can't pay up? For those of the Substrata, born beneath the notice of the well-to-do, there's only one place that's always hiring. Welcome to Secret Society ATLAS, Combatants. Try not to die.
Our Worlds Align
Author: Kristen Nicole
The world Eri saw in her dreams was beautiful - nothing like her own, devastated by war. When these two worlds align, Eri and her friends make contact with the other side, but the portals are difficult to predict, and even harder to control.
The Burning Desire to Save
Author: Lacedaemon
A decades-old student firefighter program at Harukawa Girls’ Academy sees a group of girls respond to emergencies as members of their local volunteer fire brigade. Get an up-close look at these heroes as they battle more than just fires!
Hotel Acheron
Author: J.GEE
Judy Harlowe’s search to lift a curse placed on her leads her to a mysterious hotel in the underworld. Within its walls she must contend with both the ghosts that call the place their home, and the ghosts of her past that she dragged along with her.
Black Ice
Author: Bluedysword
Keith is fascinated by legends, but such adventures don't happen in a polar desert... That's what he thought until he discovers a mythical being. Curious, he sets off in pursuit, forgetting one thing: no one tracks the legends; the legends track you.
Absolute Zero
Author: Tanaka Tomoyuki
Cursed with eyes that turn anyone who looks into them to ice, Tomoyuki Tanaka seeks to suppress it...lest he inadvertently freezes everyone around him. Fortunately, he has quite the chill personality!
Promised to a Dragon
Author: Selena Pigoni
Princess Rhiannon flees her new fiancé after her father breaks her previous engagement to a dragon. Along the way, she meets a bard who shows her a world of magic. He wins her heart, but can he save her from the dragon’s wrath and the jealous fiancé?
Gensekai
Author: Natana
After years in an Isekai world, Hiro, a typical “legendary warrior,” is teleported back to reality. As he tries to keep a job and stay social, he’ll have to learn that being a true Hero isn't about slaying demons but facing your responsibilities.
The Dragon and the Blade Saint: This Isn’t Where We End
Author: garry
Kill the Blade Saint, save her clan. This is the only thought in Mitaelshuroxa’s mind as she travels back in time to prevent the slaughter of the elder dragons at his hand. However, she’ll quickly find that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
The Young Lady Is the Substitute Harvest Goddess
Author: Gabihime
Demeter Serraffield is dreading her apprenticeship to a lecherous nobleman. One night, she is summoned by a harvest goddess from another world... but not to become a farmer, or even a hero. She has to be a harvest goddess too!
Of COURSE They're Not Fake!
Author: Karisuto
A young succubus is banished to the mortal world after a prank goes spectacularly overboard. Alone in modern Tokyo and bereft of relations, she must make new ones, and figure out what her mother meant when she demanded she became better than her.
An Unruly Summon
Author: Cathfach
An embattled king summons an otherworldly hero to defend his starving kingdom from a demonic invasion. Alas for him, the summoned hero seems rather determined to ignore his carefully prepared script, spoiling the plans of humans and demons alike.
The Chair is Magic!?
Author: Ash Kels
Stu is happy he’s able to return home, but the guildmaster ropes Stu into more work, making him…a proctor?!? How is a chair-wielding, E-rank adventurer supposed to do that? Oh well, Stu will figure it out…somehow. Wait, Stu wields a chair?!?
Clockwork Clues: When Death Comes Ticking
Author: Laura M. Drake
Kyra can Slip through time but can’t escape her controlling father and arranged marriage. After discovering a murder, she defies her upbringing and uses her power to solve the mystery alongside a dashing detective and a socially inept server bot.
How to Woo the Prince: a Primer by His Aide
Author: sunny plover
Prince Frederic's betrothal to the reviled Marguerite Beaudennes has his aide Artus worried. But when Artus visits the villainess, he finds that "Rita" is even more worried. "What if the prince kills me because he doesn't like my hair color?" "What?"
The Adorable Dungeon Master
Author: Hunger
Lucia Morales is 22 years old. One day a turf war between rival gangs brings tragedy, but that's only the beginning. Lucia is reborn in another world as a character she created in a game, and she's super cute!
Magical Girls Never Die
Author: Nth Cause
Magical girl Heart Burst finds one of her teammates dead in a closed room. Although she initially suspects the villains, it seems like the murderer might actually be one of her friends... Will she be able to solve the mystery before it's too late?