Li Kotomi

Li Kotomi (李琴峰 born on 26 Dec 1989), is a Taiwanese fiction writer, translator, and essayist in Mandarin and Japanese. She is known by her pen name, "Li Kotomi." Her native language is Mandarin Chinese, but her novels are predominantly written in Japanese, and she debuted in 2017. Her literary career began with the Japanese novel titled Hitorimai (Chinese: 獨舞 English: Solo Dance). It received the 60th Gunzo New Writers' Award for Excellence in 2017. Also, Higanbana ga saku shima (An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom) received the 165th Akutagawa Prize, which was established in 1935 in commemoration of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

Early life
Li Kotomi was born on December 26, 1989, in Taiwan. She studied Japanese when she was 15 years old. She thinks the more she knows Japanese, the more interesting it is. Her elementary school teacher was dissatisfied with her because Japan had colonized Taiwan.

She also tried to create novels in Chinese concurrently with learning Japanese. She enrolled at National Taiwan University and graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature and Japanese Literature. In 2013, she came to Japan to study for a master's degree in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Waseda University.

Following graduation, she moved to Japan to study for a master's degree in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Waseda University in 2013 and has been living there since. After graduating, she got a permanent residency in Japan in 2018. Following graduation, she started working for a general corporation. When she rode a train to go to her company, she came up with an idea and wrote her debut novel, Hitorimai (Chinese: 獨舞 English: Solo Dance), in 2018. It was her first Japanese novel, and it's also a piece of work that puts everything into it, including the suffering and thoughts of death that she felt in her life. It was awarded the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 2021. Her novel, Higanbana ga saku shima (Chinese: 彼岸花盛開之島 English: An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom) is in line for Mishima Yukio Prize and received the 165th Akutagawa Prize. She translated her Japanese novels into Chinese herself and published them in Taiwan.

Literary career
2017-2022

In 2017, her debut Hitorimai received the 60th Gunzo Prize for New Writers, and Li Kotomi was born. Since then, she has written novels in Japanese and Chinese. Also, Hitorimai adopted High School Entrance Exam at Nalano Hachioji Junior & Senior High School, affiliated to Meiji University, in 2019. She quit her company in 2018 and has become a freelance writer and translator. In 2019, her novel Itsutsu kazoereba mikazuki ga (If you count five, the crescent moon) was nominated for the 161th Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize and the 41st Noma Literary Prize.

In addition to writing novels, she has translation work. She can translate literature such as novels, essays, contracts, tourist information, comics, smartphone games, and newspaper articles. Most of her translation work is from Japanese to Chinese. Her novel Hitorimai was translated by herself. She published the Chinese version in Taiwan.

Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru (The Night of the Shining North Star, published in Feb 2020) received the Art Encouragement Newcomer Award. This series of short stories is set in Shinjuku Ni-chome and depicts the comings and goings of various people—people with diverse sexual identities, foreigners living in Japan, and others—intertwined with themes of national identity, history, and culture. She won the 2021 Akutagawa Prize for Higanbana ga saku shima (The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom)  Toumei na maku o hedatenagara, published in Aug 2022, is a collection of essays she had written for over four years, from her debut years, 2017 to 2022, when she received the Akutagawa Prize.

Since her debut, she has consistently written her works in close contact with modern society, including life and death, sexual diversity (LGBT, sexual minorities, etc.), nationality, language, and history and politics that are based on it. Also, Li Kotomi recently spoke at the International Conference on Open Access to Culture (held from June 28 to July 7, 2022) during Plenary Session 2, “A Dialogue in Diversity: Inclusion of Differences, Prospects in Cultural Collaboration.”


 * Hitorimai, which received the 60th Gunzo New Writers' Prize for Excellence, is the award targeted by Jun Bun Gaku, emphasizing the beauty of writing and the variety of artistry. Kodansha created this award.
 * Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru, received the 71st Education Minister's Art Encouragement New Awards.
 * Higanbana ga saku shima, received the 165th Akutagawa Prize

In Japanese
Hitorimai (Solo Dance) was published in March 2018 and received the 60th Gunzo New Writers Award for Excellence.

Itsutsu kazoereba mikazuki ga (Count to Five and the crescent Moon）was in line for the 161th Akutagawa Prize and Noma Bungei New Writers Award.

Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru (Night of the Shining North Star) received the 71st Education Minister's Art Encouragement New Awards.

Higanbana ga saku shima (An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom), published on June 25, 2021, received the 165th Akutagawa Prize and was in line for Mishima Yukio Awards.

Hoshi tsuki yoru (Moon and Starlight Night), published on July 15, 2020.

Sei o iwau (Celebrating life), published on December 7, 2021. It was the first novel to receive the Akutagawa Prize in 2021.

Toumei na maku o hedatenagara, published in June 2021, is a collection of essays she had written for more than four years, from her debut years, 2017 to 2022, when she received the Akutagawa Prize.

In English
Solo Dance, translated by Arthur Reiji Morris