Hitomi Kanehara is the author of Snakes and Earrings which won the top Japanese literary award, the Akutagawa Prize. One of the judges, celebrated writer Ryu Murakami, said her book was 'easily the top choice, receiving the highest marks of any work since I became a member of the selection panel'. The Japanese edition of Snakes and Earrings has since topped bestseller lists and sold over a million copies.
