The is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author

Shūgorō Yamamoto , better known by the pen name of , was a Japanese people, Japanese novelist and short story, short-story writer active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He was noted for his popular literature, and is known to have published works under at leas ...

. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in , Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), '' Ute ...

Publishing company, which published Yamamoto's ''Complete Works''. The prize is awarded annually to a new work of fiction considered to exemplify the art of storytelling, by a five-person panel consisting of fellow authors. Winners receive ¥1 million. Unlike the

Mishima Yukio Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented annually. It was established in 1988 in memory of author Yukio Mishima. The Mishima Yukio Prize is explicitly intended for work that "breaks new ground for the future of literature," and prize winners t ...

, which was established at the same time and focuses on literary fiction, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize is more broad, encompassing a wide range of genre fiction that includes historical and period fiction, mysteries, fantasy,

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

, and more. Candidate works and prize winners for both prizes are typically announced in May each year and covered in national print media. Notable winners have included

Banana Yoshimoto is the pen name of Japanese writer . From 2002 to 2015, she wrote her name in hiragana (). Biography Yoshimoto was born in Tokyo on July 24, 1964, and grew up in a progressive family. Her father was the poet and critic Takaaki Yoshimoto, and he ...

, whose winning novel '' Goodbye Tsugumi'' was later published in English, erotic and romance novelist

Misumi Kubo is a Japanese writer. She has won the R-18 Literary Award, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, the Yamada Fūtarō Prize, and the Naoki Prize. Her work has been adapted for film and television, including the 2012 film ''The Cowards Who Looked to the Sk ...

, and crime fiction and thriller author

Kanae Minato is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. She is a 2015 recipient of the Alex Awards. Life She started writing in her thirties. Her first ...

. Several prize winners have gone on to win the

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 ...

, including Riku Onda,

Miyuki Miyabe is a Japanese writer of genre fiction. She has won numerous Japanese literary awards, including the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature, the Shiba Ryotaro Prize, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, and the Na ...

Kaori Ekuni Kaori Ekuni (江國香織 ''Ekuni Kaori'', born 21 March 1964) is a Japanese author. She was born in Setagaya, Tokyo. Her father is Japanese haiku poet and essayist, Shigeru Ekuni. Works In Japan, she was dubbed the female Murakami. Her numerou ...

, and

Honobu Yonezawa is a Japanese writer, best known for his young adult mystery series '' Kotenbu'', also known as the ''Classic Literature Club'' series. Biography Honobu Yonezawa was born in 1978 in the Gifu Prefecture. From as young as he could remember, Yo ...

List of winners

An official list of winning and nominated works is maintained by

, the prize sponsor.

Nominees available in English translation

* 1991 -

Mariko Koike is a Japanese novelist. Biography Mariko Koike is a popular detective and horror novelist. Koike was born in Tokyo and graduated from Seikei University. Her first collection of essays was ''Recommendations to Women of the World'' and it became ...

, ''A Cappella'', trans. Juliet W. Carpenter (Thames River Press, 2013) * 2004 -

Otsuichi is the pen name of is a Japanese writer and filmmaker. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. He made his debut with ''Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse'' while still in high school. Major wo ...

, ''Zoo'', trans. Terry Gallagher (

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

, 2009 /

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

English Edition, 2013)

References

External links

J'Lit , Awards : Yamamoto Shugoro Prize , Books from Japan

Yamamoto Shugoro Prize official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto Shugoro Prize 1988 establishments in Japan Awards established in 1988 Japanese literary awards

List of winners

Nominees available in English translation

See also

References

External links