Japanese Literary Awards

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Bara no Machi Fukuyama Mystery Newcomer Literary Award

ばらのまちふくやまミステリーぶんがくしんじんしょう

Public newcomer literary award targeting full-length mystery novels.

Mystery novelsFull-length novels
Established
2008
Organizer
Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Category
Genre Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Newcomer
Frequency
1 per year
Application Deadline
around May
Announcement Period
around October
Status
Active

Description

Organized by Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the hometown of mystery writer Soji Shimada, with the final selection conducted solely by Soji Shimada. It is the first local literary award to solicit new full-length honkaku mysteries, and explicitly states in the eligibility that 'those with the intention to continue writing after the winning work are desirable.'

Prize

Main Prize
The winning work will be published by Kodansha, Kobunsha, or Harashobo.
  • Publication of the winning work
  • Publication of excellent works

Selection

Selection Process

Final selection
Judges Soji Shimada

Criteria

  • Targets honkaku mysteries
  • Intention to continue writing after the winning work

Related Awards

  • Mystery novel awards
  • Asia Honkaku League
  • Soji Shimada Mystery Novel Award

Official Resources

https://fukumys.jp/

Past Winners

竹中篤通 たけなか あつみち award

A stage work that digs into memory and the body under occupation from a contemporary perspective.

A stage work that digs into memory and the body under occupation from a contemporary perspective.

stagememorybodypostwar
麻根重次 あさね しげつぐ award

"赤の女王の殺人" is 麻根重次's mystery novel, and A long-form mystery published as a standalone novel.

A long-form mystery published as a standalone novel.

288 pages
mysterynoveldetective fictioncrime
No winner
白木健嗣 しらき けんじ award

A mystery about a self-driving car accident, corporate pressure, and an AI-assisted police investigation.

288 pages
文縞絵斗 ふなしま えと award

A mystery novel in which excessive love begins to eat away at a family.

302 pages
森谷祐二 もりや ゆうじ award

約束の小説 is an award-winning work that examines memory, social pressure, and the ways people try to understand themselves and others through its central situation.

約束の小説 considers the relationship between individual lives and the society around them through the shape of an award-winning work.

248 pages
award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysocietyconflict
酒本歩 さかもと あゆみ award

Futa, a dog sitter, receives a mourning postcard from the mother of a former girlfriend. Not only has he been told of that former lover's death, but he also can no longer trace other women from his past, and he approaches the mystery by following his memories and former relationships.

A mourning postcard about a former lover who is supposedly dead awakens a mystery of past relationships and memory.

248 pages
former loversmemorydisappearanceeveryday mysterydog sitter
松嶋智左 まつしま ちさ award

Former police officer and investigator Nagiko Azusa is asked by her sister to reinvestigate her nephew’s death. What was treated as a school suicide begins to look suspicious, and she probes the silence of teachers, classmates, and family.

A family request exposes the truth behind a death hidden at school.

300 pages
school mysteryfemale investigatorfamilynewcomer award
須田狗一 すだ くいち award

神の手廻しオルガン is an award-winning work that examines memory, social pressure, and the ways people try to understand themselves and others through its central situation.

神の手廻しオルガン considers the relationship between individual lives and the society around them through the shape of an award-winning work.

312 pages
award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysocietyconflict
Shinichi Hara はら しんいち award

アムステルダムの詭計 is an award-winning work that examines memory, social pressure, and the ways people try to understand themselves and others through its central situation.

アムステルダムの詭計 considers the relationship between individual lives and the society around them through the shape of an award-winning work.

332 pages
award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysocietyconflict
Isshin Kamiya かみや いっしん award

たとえ、世界に背いても is a work by 神谷一心 known for its careful treatment of the themes described in the Japanese bibliographic record.

たとえ、世界に背いても is a work by 神谷一心 that continues to draw attention through its award history.

award-winning literaturememoryhuman relationships
Fumihiro Ueda うえだ ふみひろ award

経眼窩式 is an award-recognized ミステリー by 植田文博. 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.

経眼窩式 looks at the relationship between individual lives and their times through the shape of an award-winning work.

418 pages
award-winning workmemoryrelationshipssocietyconflict
Sawa Takabayashi たかばやし さわ award

バイリンガル is an award-winning work by takabayashi-sawa. 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.

130 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturebibliographic verification
Mikito Chinen ちねん みきと award

Raison d'etre: For Whom the Blade Falls is an award-related work by 知念実希人. It can be introduced through its subject, setting, and the emotional movement of its characters, with bibliographic identifiers recorded only when a standalone book edition could be confirmed.

Raison d'etre: For Whom the Blade Falls offers a concise entry point into the work's setting and concerns.

600 pages
医療ミステリー連続殺人存在理由
Akiko Miki ふかき しょうこ award

A psychological suspense mystery that pursues the violence and secrets hidden inside the closed space of a family. As control and fear under ordinary life are exposed, the meaning of home itself turns inside out.

A psychological suspense mystery that pursues the violence and secrets hidden inside the closed space of a family.

400 pages
家族の闇心理サスペンス支配と暴力秘密の暴露
Shiki Kanou かのう しき award

A mystery in which a worker at a care facility follows an elderly woman's memories back to a wartime tragedy, uncovering old guilt and the possibility of wrongful accusation.

伽羅の橋 is an award-winning work by 叶紙器, attentive to memory and relationships beneath its subject matter.

464 pages
wartime mysterycare workwrongful accusation
Kandai Matsumoto まつもと かんだい award

Hari no Ie is a mystery novel by Kandai Matsumoto about secrets hidden inside a house and a family. In a closed web of relationships, past events and human memories gradually change shape.

The more transparent a place appears, the deeper its wounds and suspicions lie.

368 pages
family secretspsychological mysterymemoryregional city