Sunday, January 11, 2015

BW2: Akutagawa Prize

Courtesy of Archipelago Books

In my meandering around Japan and checking out translated books, I stumbled upon the Japanese literary Award - the Akutagawa Prize which is currently sponsored by the Society for Promotion of Japanese Literature.  It was established in 1935 by author and editor Kan Kikuchi of the Bungeishunju magazine in honor of the author Akutagawa Ryunosuku.  The award is rewarded semi-annually.  

It is  considered the most prestigious, yet controversial award in Japan because many authors feel that the prize should only go to authors that write in the proper, classic Japanese style while others feel it should go to modern young authors who deal with more current events.  This past year, one of the judges who'd been on the panel 17 years actually resigned because he felt the quality of works submitted had been very poor.  Which undoubtedly was insulting to the current winner, Shin'ya Tinaka

The whole list of prizewinners is available on goodreads here with links to various books. Have fun exploring.

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History of the Medieval World Readalong - Chapter 2, pp 13 - 20
Seeking the Mandate of Heaven (China 313 - 402) 


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4 comments:

  1. *Hah* I lasted through the first week this year! I've got a few more books to link up, but I think I'm already ahead of last year. Woohoo! :O)

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    1. Congratulations. Take it a week at a time and before you know it, you'll have managed to last through the year.

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  2. Week 2 - I read 'Miss Carter's War', the first novel by actress Sheila Hancock, written at the age of 81, which I find inspirational in itself! The book tells the story of an idealistic young teacher and the difficulties she and her contemporaries find in living with the aftermath of World War 2. The role which Miss Carter herself played in the war is gradually revealed as the novel progresses. A really good read.

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  3. Week 2 - I read Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. A science fiction novel by a debut author which has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award

    www.duskyliterati.com

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Thank you for your kind comments.