Akiko Akazome, author of Otome no Mikkoku (The Anonymous Tip of a Virgin), won the Akutagawa award "for budding writers" and Kyoko Nakajima, author of Chiisai O-Uchi (Small Home), received the Naoki prize for popular fiction, the Mainichi Daily News reported. The writers will be honored at an awards ceremony August 20 in Tokyo.
"Akazome skillfully took in the critical historical question of who betrayed Anne Frank and successfully depicted what it is like to lose one's identity and 'forget,' " said Yoko Ogawa, a member of the selection committee for the Akutagawa award.
Mariko Hayashi, a member of the Naoki prize selection committee, said Nakajima "has vividly described the middle-class family of the prewar period. Though Nakajima had kept missing out on prizes, she is such a skilled writer. She has demonstrated outstanding ability in portraying realistic characters and use of sources."