Chihaya was born in Hokkaido in 1979.[1] From first grade through fifth grade Chihaya lived in Zambia, where her father, who was working for the Japan International Cooperation Agency, taught pathology at a university.[2] Her family returned to Japan, and Chihaya started writing poetry and keeping a diary while in high school.[3] Chihaya later graduated from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.[4] After graduating from college she stayed in Kyoto and worked a variety of jobs at a cake shop, a medical office, and a museum.[3]
Career
Chihaya made her literary debut in 2008 with Iogami (魚神, Fish God), a novel that won the 21st Shōsetsu Subaru New Writer Award as well as the 37th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature, which is not usually awarded to a debut work.[5][6] Her book Atokata (あとかた), a collection of short stories with common characters and the common theme of scarring, was published in 2013.[7]Atokata won the Shimase Award for Love Stories and was nominated for the 150th Naoki Prize, but did not win.[8][9] In July 2013 Chihaya married her husband.[8] Her novel Otoko Tomodachi (男ともだち, Male Friends), about a woman in a sexless marriage who breaks off her affair with another man to reconnect with a male friend from her school days, was published in 2014.[10]Otoko Tomodachi was nominated for the 151st Naoki Prize, but the prize went to Hiroyuki Kurokawa.[11][12]
Chihaya produced several books after her Naoki Prize nominations, including the 2016 dark fantasy novel Yoru ni Naku Tori wa (夜に啼く鳥は),[13] the 2017 novel Garden (ガーデン), about a male editor and his relationships with the women around him,[14] and the 2018 novel Tadashii Onnatachi (正しい女たち, Correct Women).[15] In 2023 Chihaya won the 168th Naoki Prize for Shirogane no Ha (しろがねの葉), sharing the prize with Satoshi Ogawa.[16]
^花村, 萬月 (January 5, 2009). "『魚神』千早茜". Renzaburo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^ ab"作家の読書道 第149回：千早茜さん". WEB本の雑誌 (in Japanese). June 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^"【報告】校友の千早茜さんが「小説すばる新人賞」を受賞しました！" [Report: Alumna Akane Chihaya wins the Shōsetsu Subaru Literary Prize!]. 校友会NEWS (Alumni Association News) (in Japanese). Ritsumeikan University. October 17, 2008. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^加藤, 修 (November 23, 2009). "泉鏡花文学賞に選ばれた 千早茜さん" [Akane Chihaya chosen as winner of Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^"Scars". Books from Japan. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^ ab"島清恋愛文学賞を受賞した作家、千早茜さん（３４）". Sankei News (in Japanese). November 24, 2013. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^"小説すばる新人賞受賞作リスト" [Shōsetsu Subaru New Writers Award Winners List] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^"泉鏡花文学賞" [Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature] (in Japanese). City of Kanazawa. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
^"林、千早さん受賞 島清恋愛文学賞" [Hayashi, Chihaya awarded Shimase Award for Love Stories]. Hokkoku Shimbun (in Japanese). October 26, 2013. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
