Japanese Literary Awards

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Agatha Christie Prize

あがさくりすてぃーしょう

A public newcomer award for long mystery novels sponsored by Hayakawa Publishing and the Hayakawa Foundation for the Promotion of Pure Literature.

Mystery novelNewcomer award
Established
2010
Organizer
Hayakawa Kiyoshi Literary Foundation and Hayakawa Publishing Corporation
Category
Genre Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Newcomer
Frequency
1 per year
Application Deadline
around February
Announcement Period
around August–September
Status
Active

Description

Established in 2010 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the birth of British mystery writer Agatha Christie, with the cooperation of Agatha Christie Ltd. in the UK, this is a long mystery novel public submission newcomer award sponsored by Hayakawa Publishing and the Hayakawa Foundation for the Promotion of Pure Literature. It targets unpublished Japanese mystery novels equivalent to 400-800 pages (400-character manuscript paper), and winners are awarded a plaque named after Agatha Christie along with a prize of 1 million yen.

Prize

Main Prize
Plaque named after Agatha Christie
Cash Prize
1,000,000 JPY

Selection

Selection Process

First round selection
Judges Document screening
Final selection
Judges Selection committee

Related Awards

  • Hayakawa Mystery Contest
  • Hayakawa Pocket Mystery
  • Hayakawa Mystery Bunko
  • Hayakawa Mystery World

Official Resources

https://www.hayakawa-foundation.or.jp/business/christie_prize/

Past Winners

川瀬美保 かわせ みほ grand prize
432 pages
睦月準也 むつき じゅんや grand prize
256 pages
葉山博子 はやま ひろこ grand prize
384 pages
小塚原旬 こづかはら しゅん excellence award
400 pages
西式豊 にししき ゆたか grand prize

A science-fiction mystery set in a near future of medical tech and virtual space, following the mystery around a vision-restoration surgery.

Between virtuality and reality, the truth behind the shadow threatening a girl comes into focus.

368 pages
science fictionmedicinevirtual realitymystery
Touma Ousaka おうさか とうま grand prize

Against the backdrop of the Eastern Front, Serafima, a girl whose mother was killed, takes up a rifle and becomes a sniper. The novel traces the violence of war and the solidarity among women in a tense, forceful narrative.

A girl takes up a rifle for revenge.

496 pages
war novelwomen soldiersEastern Frontcoming-of-age storyrevenge
そえだ信 そえだ しん grand prize

A detective who has been turned into a robot vacuum cleaner races through the city of Otaru to protect his niece. The novel combines absurd premise, urgency, family bonds, and the momentum of an adventure story within a mystery framework.

A detective in the form of a vacuum cleaner runs through Otaru to protect his niece.

296 pages
mysterytransformationfamily bondsHokkaidoadventure
宮園ありあ みやぞの ありあ excellence award

Set in 18th-century Versailles, the novel follows Princess Marie-Amélie as she is drawn into a murder case and uncovers court intrigue and mystery. It emphasizes the tension of an investigation unfolding beneath the splendor of the palace.

Set in 18th-century Versailles, the novel follows Princess Marie-Amélie as she is drawn into a murder case and uncovers court intrigue and mystery.

368 pages
historical mysteryVersaillescourt intriguedetective fiction
Honami Ryo ほなみ りょう grand prize

月の落とし子 is an award-winning work by 穂波了. It is presented here as the work associated with the アガサ・クリスティー賞.

An award-winning work by 穂波了: 月の落とし子.

award-winning workliterature
Organic Yuuki おーがにっく ゆうき grand prize

A mystery novel about Shun Okamoto, a young man who drifts into Naha's waterborne shopping district over the Garb River and is drawn into a case involving a drowned body, U.S. military shadows, the CIA, and legends of the Ryukyu kings. Against the atmosphere of postwar Okinawa, it also follows a bereaved young man searching for a place to belong.

In a floating shopping district born from postwar disorder, a corpse, a legend, and the shadow of espionage begin to connect.

400 pages
postwar Okinawawaterborne shopping districtfamily lossconspiracy and legendsearch for belonging
村木美涼 むらき みすず grand prize

Misuzu Muraki's Mado kara Mieru Saisho no Mono is a quiet everyday mystery in which several lives in one town gradually overlap. Seemingly separate episodes involving a clinic, a painting, a cafe property, and a missing-person report form a carefully structured whole.

Four apparently separate lives quietly connect within a single town.

352 pages
everyday mysteryensemble narrativepaintingurban memory
日野真人 ひの まさと excellence award

Masato Hino's Sessho Kanpaku no Kumo is a historical mystery centered on secret orders involving the tea utensil Hiragumo. Warrior Mai Hyogo is caught between competing powers around the Hidetsugu incident and forced to choose under pressure.

A secret order to find Hiragumo pulls a warrior into a vortex of power.

336 pages
historical mysteryToyotomi Hidetsugutea utensilsecret mission
春坂咲月 はるさか さつき excellence award

花を追え 仕立屋・琥珀と着物の迷宮 is an award-winning work by 春坂咲月. It is presented here as the work associated with the アガサ・クリスティー賞.

An award-winning work by 春坂咲月: 花を追え 仕立屋・琥珀と着物の迷宮.

award-winning workliterature
Toshihiko Shimizu しみず とじひこ grand prize

うそつき、うそつき is an award-winning work that examines memory, social pressure, and the ways people try to understand themselves and others through its central situation.

うそつき、うそつき considers the relationship between individual lives and the society around them through the shape of an award-winning work.

award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysocietyconflict
Chiemi Matsuura まつうら ちえみ grand prize

しだれ桜恋心中 is a work by 松浦千恵美 known for its careful treatment of the themes described in the Japanese bibliographic record.

しだれ桜恋心中 is a work by 松浦千恵美 that continues to draw attention through its award history.

award-winning literaturememoryhuman relationships
Yoichi Misawa みさわ よういち grand prize

致死量未満の殺人 is an award-recognized ミステリー by 三沢陽一. Public bibliographic records and award information frame it as a work concerned with personal choice, memory, and the pressure of its social or historical setting.

致死量未満の殺人 looks at the relationship between individual lives and their times through the shape of an award-winning work.

331 pages
award-winning workmemoryrelationshipssocietyconflict
Yuka Nakazato なかざと ゆか grand prize

カンパニュラの銀翼 is an award-winning work by nakazato-yuka. This entry summarizes the work from award records and public bibliographic sources.

A work whose profile and availability can be traced through its award history.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturebibliographic verification
Akimaro Mori もり あきまろ grand prize

黒猫の遊歩あるいは美学講義 is a ミステリ小説 by 森晶麿. A mystery set against university lectures in aesthetics, combining detection with intellectual dialogue. The reasoning of the figure known as Black Cat links questions of art and beauty with the case.

黒猫の遊歩あるいは美学講義 builds its world around mystery.

mysteryaestheticsuniversityintellectual dialogue