Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize

The Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (山本周五郎賞^?) is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shūgorō Yamamoto, and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Shinchō Society for the Promotion of Literary Arts (Shinchō Bungei Shinkō Kai). It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which had close ties with the author throughout his career.

The prize is awarded annually to a new work of fiction considered to exemplify the art of storytelling, by a five-person panel consisting of fellow authors. Winners receive 1 million Yen or the equivalent of $10,000.

Unlike the Mishima Yukio Prize, which was established at the same time and focuses on literary fiction, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize is more broad, encompassing a wide range of genre fiction that includes historical and period fiction, mysteries, fantasy, erotica, and more.

A notable winner is Banana Yoshimoto for her work Goodbye Tsugumi early in her career in 1989.

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