Haruki Murakami

I did not write any fiction until my early thirties. Then I was suddenly and inexplicably inspired to write my first novel (Hear the Wind Sing, 1979) while watching a baseball game (I'm a fan of the Yakult Swallows). I worked on it for several months in very brief stretches after working days at the bar. After finishing, I sent my novel to the only literary contest that would accept a work of that length, and won first prize. This first work of mine contained many of the basic elements of my writing: Westernized style, idiosyncratic humor, and poignant nostalgia.My success encouraged me to keep writing. Why? I feel that "When you read a good story, you just keep reading. When I write a good story, I just keep writing."I wrote these, read them if you'd like; * Hear the Wind Sing (??????, Kaze no uta o kike?, 1979) * Pinball, 1973 (1973???????, 1973-nen no pinboru?, 1980) * A Wild Sheep Chase (???????, Hitsuji o meguru boken?, 1982) * Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (??????????????·???????, Sekai no owari to hâdoboirudo wandarando?, 1985) * Norwegian Wood (???????, Noruwei no mori?, 1987) * Dance, Dance, Dance (???·???·???, Dansu dansu dansu?, 1988) * South of the Border, West of the Sun (?????????, Kokkyo no minami, taiyo no nishi?, 1992) * The Elephant Vanishes (????, Zo no shometsu?, 1993) * Yagate Kanashiki Gaikokugo (?????????, Yagate kanashiki gaikokugo?, 1994) * The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (??????????, Nejimaki-dori kuronikuru?, 1994-1995) o Nejimakidori Chronicle Vol. 1 (???????, dorobou kasasagi hen?) o Nejimakidori Chronicle Vol. 2 (??????, yogen suru tori hen?) o Nejimakidori Chronicle Vol. 3 (?????, torisashi otoko hen?) * Underground (?????????, Andaguraundo?, 1997-1998) * Sputnik Sweetheart (?????????, Sputoniku no koibito?, 1999) * After the quake (????????????, Kami no kodomo-tachi wa mina odoru?, 2000) * Kafka on the Shore (??????, Umibe no Kafuka?, 2002) * After Dark (???????, Afutadaku?, 2004) English version to be released in 2007 * Sleep (2004) Short story which also appears in The Elephant Vanishes * Tokyo Kitanshu (?????, Tokyo Kitanshu?, 2005)I won these awars: Shinjin Bungaku Prize, 1974 Junichiro Tanizaki Prize, 1985 Yomiuri Literary Prize, 1996