In light of the success of their first international manga contest, Kodansha, one of Japan’s biggest publisher of manga, has decided to hold a second competition, making their international competition a twice yearly event.

The Morning International Manga Competition, sponsored by Kodansha’s manga magazine, Weekly Morning, is accepting submissions from artists around the world. The deadline is this December 31st. The grand prize winner will have his or her manga serialized in Morning Two, Weekly Morning’s bi-monthly sister manga magazine, in addition to receiving a cash prize.

“The intent of this magazine is to find undiscovered talent,” said Kodansha deputy editor-in-chief of Weekly Morning, Eijiro Shimada. A new manga magazine, Morning Two is just four issues old and showcases new Japanese talent like Natsume Ohno, formerly a doujinshi (self-published) artist. The magazine also sponsors contests for local Japanese artists twice a year.

Weekly Morning is a 25-year-old publication with a circulation of 500,000 plus copies. The magazine is geared towards an adult audience and has featured series like Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond (published in the U.S. by Viz Media) and Masashi Tanaka’s GON (published by CMX). While Japan has a large pool of creator talent, Shimada believes that recognizing manga created by atists outside Japan is a natural progression. “I believe it’s important to expand the artist base,” Shimada said. “We’re thirsting for new ideas from all over the world. We’re up for the challenge so please join us.” Submission guidelines can be found on the Morning magazine website.