They've announced the winners of the (153rd) Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, with 火花 by 又吉直樹 (Matayoshi Naoki) and スクラップ・アンド・ビルド by 羽田圭介 (Keisuke Haneda) sharing the Akutagawa and 流 by 東山彰良 (Higashiyama Akira) winning the Naoki; see, for example, reports such as Comedian Matayoshi, Hada win Akutagawa Prize (Yomiuri Shimbun) amd Taiwan-born novelist wins Japan's popular literature award (Want China Times).
Apparently, the Matayoshi-win is a big deal -- he's a popular comedian, and the book has been selling very well (640,000 copies already in print). Indeed, apparently Publisher to print 1 mil. copies of Akutagawa Prize-winning Hibana (Kyodo News) -- or, as The Japan Times summarizes, Comedian Matayoshi's literary win offers hope for sagging publishing industry.
Apparently, the Matayoshi-win is a big deal -- he's a popular comedian, and the book has been selling very well (640,000 copies already in print). Indeed, apparently Publisher to print 1 mil. copies of Akutagawa Prize-winning Hibana (Kyodo News) -- or, as The Japan Times summarizes, Comedian Matayoshi's literary win offers hope for sagging publishing industry.