Hyouka author Honobu Yonezawa has won the 166th Naoki Prize for literature after having previously been nominated for the award twice. Yonezawa won the award for his recent Kokurōjō mystery novel.

Yonezawa was previously nominated for the 151st Naoki Prize in 2014 for his Mangan short story collection, and for the 155th Naoki Prize in 2016 for his Shinjitsu no 10 Meter Temae novel. This marks the first time the author has won the award.

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Honobu Yonezawa

The Naoki Prize is a Japanese literature award that celebrates new and rising authors. The award was created by Japanese author Kan Kikuchi in 1935, and is awarded biannually. Shōgo Imamura also won the 166th Naoki Prize for his Saiо̄ no Tate novel.

Yonezawa’s Hyouka novel is the first entry in his six-volume Classic Literature Club series. The novels were published by Kadokawa Shoten in their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint, and inspired a manga adaptation that began serialization in Kadokawa’s Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine in 2012. Taskohna illustrates the series and 12 tankōbon volumes have been released so far, with the most recent having come out in November 2020.

A 22-episode anime adaptation from Kyoto Animation aired during the Spring and Summer 2012 seasons. Yasuhiro Takemoto (Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid) directed the series, with Shoji Gatoh (Full Metal Panic!, Amagi Brilliant Park) penning the script. Kohei Tanaka (One Piece, Sakura Wars) composed the series’ score. Yuichi Nakamura (Jujutsu Kaisen’s Satoru Gojou, Clannad’s Tomoya Okazaki) voiced Hotaro Oreki, with Satomi Satō (K-On!’s Ritsu Tainaka, Fairy Tail’s Wendy Marvell) playing the role of Eru Chitanda.

A live-action film, Hyouka: Forbidden Secrets, was released in 2017 and distributed by Kadokawa Pictures. Mari Asato directed the film and penned its screenplay, with Kento Yamazaki and Alice Hirose starring as Hotarou Oreki and Eru Chitanda, respectively.

Source: Anime News Network

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