pixiv Novel’s Global Creator Features Fully Upgraded: Region-Specific Publishing Tools Now Available

～Commemorating the Feature Upgrade: “pixiv Global Flash Fiction Challenge” Now Underway～

TokyoApril 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — pixiv Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yasuhiro Niwa; hereinafter “pixiv”), the operator of the illustration, manga, and novel submission platform “pixiv,” has recently rolled out a major update to its novel submission features, aiming to help global creators unleash their creativity more fully.

This update focuses on the “face” of novels—the cover feature—achieving multilingual adaptation and optimization, along with functional improvements tailored to the writing cultures of different languages. These include adjusting “emphasis mark placement” according to Simplified Chinese publishing conventions, optimizing punctuation display in vertical text on novel covers, and supporting “italics,” an essential element in English expression.

At the same time, to commemorate this update, the novel submission project “pixiv Global Flash Fiction Challenge” is being held starting today, allowing novel creators from around the world to participate freely.

■ Update Details: Further Enhancing Beautiful Expression for Creators Across Cultures

The novel cover feature supports the use of over 80 official templates (with customizable colors) to create covers, now optimized for a total of 7 languages, including Simplified Chinese.

• Fixed Garbled Text and Display Errors: Improved issues where language-specific characters and symbols appeared garbled or blank. Ensures input characters display correctly, achieving more aesthetically pleasing title effects.
• Recreated Regional Publishing Cultures: Ensures that brackets (such as 「」 and 《》) and punctuation marks are displayed correctly in vertical Chinese text.

New “Text Styles” Added to Novel Body

To enhance the “writing experience” and “reading experience” for global users, new text styles have been added to convey nuanced expression.

• Localized Emphasis Marks: Supports not only Japanese and Traditional Chinese styles placed “above the text,” but also correct placement “below the text” in Simplified Chinese horizontal text, aligning with regional publishing practices.
• Italic Support: Now supports italic text styles, commonly used in English works for psychological descriptions and flashbacks.

“pixiv Novel Preview Image Generator” Adapted for Multiple Languages
The “pixiv Novel Preview Image Generator,” which became a permanent feature in March 2024, has now been adapted for multiple languages. This feature allows users to convert novel text into images for sharing. Users can select favorite lines or highlights from submitted novels to generate beautifully formatted, visually appealing images, making it easy to share on platforms like Weibo and helping to promote their works.

■ Global Novel Submission Project: “pixiv Global Flash Fiction Challenge”
To commemorate the launch of feature updates tailored to global novel creators, we are hosting a submission challenge open to all novel creators! This project calls for “flash fiction” works that utilize the novel cover feature, and anyone is welcome to participate.

【Submission Project Page】
https://www.pixiv.net/novel/contest/pixivflash26 

【Event Period】
From April 27, 2026 (Monday) to May 31, 2026 (Sunday) 23:59 Japan Time

【Participation Conditions】

• The language setting of the novel work must be a language other than Japanese.
  ※ This setting is different from the pixiv page language setting.
• Must use the novel cover feature and add a title.
• Must add the following designated tag when submitting:
  pixivFlash26

【Theme】
Secrets

【Length Restrictions】

• Languages counted by characters (Chinese, Korean, Thai, etc.):
  Within 2,000 characters

• Languages counted by words (Malay, European languages, Indonesian, English, etc.):
  Within 1,000 words

※ The counter at the bottom of the pixiv novel submission editor only displays “character count.” Please check the word count in advance using an external editor before submitting.

【Benefits and Prizes】
We will select a total of 10 participants, introduce their works on pixiv’s official social media accounts, and award the following prizes:

• Introduction of Works on pixiv Official Social Media Accounts
  Winning works will be introduced on pixiv’s official social media accounts (X, Weibo, Facebook, etc.) in the corresponding language.

• Japanese Premium Stationery Set
  The prize set includes popular high-quality writing tools such as the “PILOT Kakuno Fountain Pen” and “Kokuyo Field Survey Notebook.”

pixiv will continue to optimize and expand its services, striving to build a platform where global creators can freely publish their works and exchange diverse cultures, transcending regions and languages.