"Mr. Bookstore Grand Prix:" Isaka Wins Fifth Annual Prize

"Mr. Bookstore Grand Prix" Kôtarô Isaka, who has been nominated every year since the prize's inception five years ago, has been selected as the 2008 winner of for his novel "Golden Slumber" (published by Shinchôsha). Because this work has been repeatedly appraised as a "hot" item in comparison to previous prizewinners, the awards ceremony held in Tokyo on April 8 was filled to capacity as booksellers and others from the publishing industry crammed into the hall. It has been five years since the Bookstore Grand Prix was started by interested booksellers. It was established as a regular springtime event at a time when comments voicing concern over the future prospects of booksellers were reaching critical levels.

Isaka takes pride in the overwhelming popularity of his six works on the ballots of the first four competitions ("The Coin Locker of the Duck and the Goose," "Gravity Clown," "Children," "Accuracy of Death," "Prince of Darkness" and "The Final Fool"). Many bookstore employees noted that "Somehow, Isaka has been nominated every year," with his seventh nomination this year finally producing his first prize. Isaka said cheerfully, "All of the booksellers I know always seem busy, so I was deeply grateful they could take time out to select me. I'm going to continue working hard so they won't say, 'We shouldn't have chosen that guy." Many booksellers came just to get a glimpse of Isaka, who lives in Sendai and seldom does book signings.


* Some of the book titles are tentative translations.
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