Hisashi Inoue (1934–2010) was, in the words of Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, one of the towering figures of contemporary Japan. A novelist, playwright, producer and scriptwriter, his awards include the Naoki Prize (1972), the Yomiuri Literary Prize (1979, 1981, 2010), the Japan SF Grand Prize (1981), the Seiun Award (1986), the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize (1991), the Kikuchi Kan Literary Award (1999) and the Asahi Prize (2000). Angus Turvill is an award-winning translator who currently teaches at Durham University, UK. His prize-winning translations include work by Kaori Ekuni and Natsuki Ikezawa (Shizuoka Grand Prize), Kuniko Mukoda (John Dryden), Osamu Dazai (J-Lit), and Nanami Kamon (Kurodahan). His other translations include work by Kiwao Nomura, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, Aoko Matsuda and Yasuhiro Yotsumoto.
