Natsuhiko Kyougoku  

Natsuhiko Kyogoku was born in 1963 and has a special interest in Japanese folklore, particularly supernatural entities known as "yokai." Although he had never published before, Kyogoku brought his manuscript for The Summer of the Ubume to Kodansha on his own. This unique publishing process and the book's subsequent success inspired the creation of the Mephisto Award, which recognizes new mystery and fantasy writers. The Summer of the Ubume is the first in a series of nine novels, with the second earning Kyogoku the Japan Mystery Writers Award in 1994. He would later win the Naoki Award for his book Requiem from the Darkness in 2004.