A selection meeting for the Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize was held, and Rin Usami's "Push, Burning Yu" was selected for the Akutagawa Prize, and


Naka Saijo's "Shinjitsugawa" was selected for

the

Naoki Prize.

Akutagawa Prize Rin Usami "Push, Burn"

The 164th Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize selection meeting was held in Tokyo on the afternoon of the 20th, of which Rin Usami (21)'s "Push, Burning Yu" was selected for the Akutagawa Prize.



Mr. Usami is a second-year university student living in Kanagawa prefecture. He started writing novels when he was a high school student, and majored in Japanese literature at university.



He won the Bungei Prize for his novel "Kaka", which depicts the love and hate of his mother and daughter, and made his debut as a writer in his first year of college. The following year, he won the Mishima Yukio Prize for this work, the youngest in history, and became a hot topic. It was.



This time, the Akutagawa Prize was the first candidate for the second work following the debut work, and the award was decided.

The award-winning work "Push, Burning Yu" is a high school girl who supports a male idol who is called "Push" while having difficulty living without being familiar with school and home. The story of the main character.



A delicate psychological depiction of how "pushing" continues to struggle in the face of the pain of losing "pushing" as the balance of the mind gradually collapses in the wake of the burning incident of hitting a fan.

Naoki Prize Naka Saijo "Sorrowful River"

On the other hand, Naka Saijo (56)'s "Shinjitsugawa" was selected for the Naoki Prize.



Mr. Saijo is from Ikeda-cho, Hokkaido, worked for a company after graduating from a vocational school, and made his debut in 2005 when he won the Japan Fantasy Novel Award for "Kinharuya Gomez".



He has published many works centered on historical novels, and this time the Naoki Prize was the first candidate to win the prize.

The award-winning work, "Shinjitsugawa," is a series of six short stories featuring people who live in a corner of Edo around Sendagi, Tokyo, with some stubbornness in their hearts.



The joy and sadness that the characters feel in their poor daily lives, and the way they try to live positively through encounters with people, are depicted in quaint and quiet sentences.