Taiwan novelist wins 165th Akutagawa Prize in Japan

2021/07/16

Taiwan novelist Li Qin-feng was named winner of the Akutagawa Prize Wednesday in Japan, according to the Ministry of Culture July 14.
 
Li’s 2021 Japanese-language novel "Island where Flowers Bloom on the Shore" was selected from among five books contending for top honors at the 165th edition of the event. She is the first Taiwan author to receive the award, the MOC said.
 
The novel is set on a fictional island between Taiwan and Japan whose culture and language are a blend of those of the two countries. Its story follows the female inhabitants of the island, who are the only ones allowed to learn a certain language and are put in charge of religious rituals, political affairs and historical record keeping.
 
According to the MOC, Li relocated to Japan in 2013. She received the Gunzo New Writer's Award for Excellence for her novel "Solo Dance" in 2017, while "Count to Five and the Crescent Moon" was shortlisted for the Akutagawa Prize in 2019, the ministry said.
 
Launched in 1935, the Akutagawa Prize is presented biannually for the best work of fiction by a promising new Japanese-language author. Along with the Naoki Prize for the best work of popular fiction, the award is one of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)