is a Japanese writer, best known for his

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

mystery series '' Kotenbu'', also known as the ''Classic Literature Club'' series.

Biography

Honobu Yonezawa was born in 1978 in the

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

. From as young as he could remember, Yonezawa wanted to be a writer. At 11 years old, he wrote a sequel to

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

's ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

,'' and started writing original novels in the second year of junior high school. In his second year of Kanazawa University studying literature, he started publishing his works on his site ''Hanmuden'' (汎夢殿) (the website was temporarily shut down after his official debut and these works are currently unavailable). His early work were diverse in genre, but Yonezawa was struck when he read Kaoru Kitamura's ''Flying Horse'' (空飛ぶ馬) and ''Princess in Rokunomiya'' (六の宮の姫君) while in university, and decided to turn his attention to writing mysteries. After graduating from university, Yonezawa convinced his parents to let him try and attain his dream of writing a novel for two years. He got a job as a bookstore clerk in Takayama while he continued writing on the side. In 2001, he officially debuted with the novel ''

Hyōka is a 2001 Japanese mystery novel written by Honobu Yonezawa. It is the first volume of the series. Five additional volumes have been published between 2002 and 2016. A manga adaptation drawn by Taskohna began serialization in the March ...

,'' (氷菓) which received an honorable mention in the ''5th Kadokawa Gakuen Novel Young Person Mystery and Horror Category Awards'' (角川学園小説大賞). His decision to submit was fueled by positive reception of ''Hyōka'' on his website ''Hanmuden,'' that he personally saw a future in the combination of

light novels A is a type of popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting teens to twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbreviation of "''raito noberu''" is or ...

and mysteries, and because he was late for the deadline of another award. ''Hyōka'' became the first novel in a series dubbed the ''Classic Literature Club'' (古典部) series, to be distributed by the newly established ''Sneaker Mystery Club'' within the

Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko is a light novel publishing imprint (trade name), imprint of the Japanese publishing company Kadokawa Shoten, a Division (business), division of Kadokawa Corporation. It was established in 1988 and is aimed at a male audience. Some light novels p ...

imprint. ''Hyōka'' was soon followed with ''Gusha no Endorōru'' (愚者のエンドロール) in 2002. However, when Yonezawa had completed the draft for the third and what he intended to be the final book in the ''Classic Literature Club'' series, the label was going on hiatus due to changing trends in the market, so he could not get it published. Despite this, he was approached by Tokyo Sogensha who inquired what he was working on, thanks partly to recommendations from writers Kiyoshi Kasai and Kazuki Sakuraba. When he explained the situation to the publisher, they asked to see the draft and after a few days they requested rights to publish it. After discussions between Kadokawa, Tokyo Sogensha and Yonezawa, they agreed to have the novel published, and after changing details such as the characters and the setting, ''Sayonara Yōsei'' (さよなら妖精) was published in 2004. It was featured in the magazine '' Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!'' (このミステリーがすごい!) in 2005, ranking 20th in the domestic category. In the same year, he published ''Shunki Gentei Ichigo Taruto Jiken'' (春期限定いちごタルト事件), the first novel of the '' Shōshimin'' (小市民) series. Around the same time, he moved from

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

Tōkyō Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which ...

. In 2008, when Yonezawa published ''Hakanai Hitsuji tachi no Shukuen'' (儚い羊たちの祝宴), he states that he started not only paying attention to the riddles present within his works, but also how they appeal to a wider audience. So when he published ''Oreta Ryūkotsu'' (折れた竜骨) in 2010, which incorporated some fantasy elements to an otherwise classical mystery story, it won the ''64th

Mystery Writers of Japan Award The are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of Japan. They honor the best in crime fiction and critical/biographical work published in the previous year. MWJ Award for Best Novel winners (1948–1951, 1976–present) MWJ Award for Be ...

'' for the following year. In 2012,

Kyoto Animation , often abbreviated , is a Japanese animation studio and light novel publisher located in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. It was founded in 1985 by husband and wife Hideaki and Yoko Hatta, who remain its president and vice-president respectively. Kyoto ...

aired an anime adaptation of the ''Classic Literature Club'' series under the name of the first novel, ''Hyōka.'' Since 2013, he has been on the selection committee for the ''Mysteries! Rookie of the Year Award'' (ミステリーズ!新人賞). In 2014, his short story collection ''Mangan'' (満願) was selected as one of the best mysteries in the ''Mystery ga Yomitai!,'' (ミステリーが読みたい!) ''

Shūkan Bunshun is a Japanese weekly tabloid ( shūkanshi) based in Tokyo, Japan, known for its investigative journalism and frequent clashes with the Japanese government. This has led to it being considered one of the most influential weekly magazines in the ...

Mystery Best 10,'' (週刊文春ミステリーベスト10) and ''Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!'' It was ranked the top in domestic rankings and became the first book in history to receive three simultaneous rankings from different publications. It also won the ''27th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize'' and the ''151st Naoki Prize.'' In 2016, he was selected by literary magazine

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

in their Japanese edition as one of the ''Granta Best of Young Japanese Novelists''. In 2024, the first two novels of the '' Shōshimin Series'' were adapted into an anime produced by Lapin Track, and released under the name '' Shōshimin: How to Become Ordinary''.

Awards and nominations

* ''

'' (or ''Hyouka'') ''Frozen Dessert''(Novel) ** 2001 – The Encouragement Prize in the 5th Kadokawa School Novel Prize (Kadokawa Gakuen Shōsetsu Taishō), YA Mystery/Horror category * "Kokoroatari no Aru Mono wa" "Anyone Who Knows"(Short story) ** 2007 – Nominee for

for Best Short Story * ''Inshite Miru'' ''Try Indulging''(Novel) ** 2008 – Nominee for

Honkaku Mystery Award The are presented every year by the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. They honor the best in honkaku (i.e. authentic, orthodox) mystery fiction and critical works published in the previous year. Honkaku Mystery Award for Best Fiction winne ...

for Best Novel * ''Tsuisō Godanshō'' ''Five morceaux of Reminiscence''(Novel) ** 2010 – Nominee for

for Best Novel ** 2010 – Nominee for

for Best Novel * ''Oreta Ryūkotsu'' ''Broken Keel''(Novel) ** 2011 –

for Best Novel ** 2011 – The Best Japanese Mystery Fiction of the Year ('' 2012 Honkaku Mystery Best 10'') ** 2011 – Nominee for

for Best Novel ** 2011 – Nominee for Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize * ''Mangan'' (Novel) ** 2014 – Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize ** 2014 – Nominee for

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for ...

* ''Kokurōjō'' (Novel) ** 2021 – Yamada Fūtarō Prize ** 2021 –

Bibliography

Hyōka series (Classic Literature Club series)

*Novels: ** , 2001 ** , 2002 ** , 2005 ** , 2010 *Short story collections: ** , 2007 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** , 2016 *** *** *** *** *** ***

Shōshimin Series

*Novels: ** , 2004 ** , 2006 ** , 2009 ** , 2024 *Short story collection: ** , 2020

Standalone mystery novels

* , 2004 * , 2005 * , 2006
A partial translation of ''Bottleneck''
at

Tufts Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy progr ...

Digital Library) * , 2007 * , 2008 * , 2009 * , 2010 * , 2009 * , 2014 * , 2018 * , 2019 * , 2021

Film adaptations

* '' The Incite Mill'' (2010, directed by

Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as ''Ring'' (1998), ''Ring 2'' (1999) and '' Dark Water'' (2002). Several of these ...

) (based on the novel ''Inshite Miru'')

References

External links

Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonezawa, Honobu 1978 births Living people 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese male short story writers Japanese mystery writers Light novelists Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners Naoki Prize winners Writers of young adult literature Writers from Gifu Prefecture 20th-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century Japanese male writers 21st-century Japanese male writers