Born in 1984, Wataya Risa wrote her debut novel Install at age seventeen. It netted her the Bungei Prize, making her the youngest writer in history to receive the award. In 2004 she broke records again with her Akutagawa Prize-winning second novel, Keritai senaka. Her most recent work, Kawaisou da ne?, was awarded the Kenzaburo Oe Prize in 2012. This is the first time her work has been translated into English.