By Daisuke Kikuchi

The 156th Akutagawa Prize was awarded to 50-year-old author Sumito Yamashita for his book “Shinsekai (New World),” which explores his teenage experiences, the selection committee of the prestigious literary award announced Thursday.

“It’s delightful,” said Yamashita during a news conference held at a Tokyo hotel soon after the announcement.

Yamashita won the award after being nominated three times before.

“I may not have enough understanding of novels,” but winning the Akutagawa Prize “is incredible,” he said.

Born in 1966 in Kobe, Yamashita was long an established playwright and actor but started working on novels in 2011. The story in the book is of his actual experience of attending a theater school in Hokkaido where he supported himself and lived alongside the other students. Read more

Source: Japan Times