Founded in 1981, Kyoto Animation Studios has produced 22 anime series, 10 anime films and 2 OVAs. Beginning in 2009, the studio began hosting the KyoAni Awards, a competiton where creators submit original mangas, novels and scenarios (idea pitches) for judgement. Winning entries have the chance to recieve an anime adaptation from the studio. Since the competition first began in 2009, there have been several Honorable Mentions but no Grand Prize Winners in any of the 3 categories. That is, until author Kana Akatsuki and illustrator Akiko Takase's Violet Evergarden novel took home the honor in 2014.
To date they're the only Grand Prize winner in 7 years. A such, Kyoto Animation's announcement that they're working on an anime adaptation should come as no surprise. With this being the initial announcement there's no info on when the anime will premiere.
Previous Honorable Mention winners of the KyoAni Awards include Free! and Beyond the Boundary. Both went on to become popular anime series.
Violet Evergarden refers to the name of an "Auto Memories Doll," a robot constructed to assist people who no longer have the ability to put their thoughts on paper, as a result of physical and/or mental handicaps. The novel is episodic in nature, more along the lines of loosely connected short stories as Violet meet many people throughout the course of her life. She connects many hearts together through the letters she writes. Though her time with each client/person is short, the bonds formed during her time with them begin to have an impact on Violet...