Saō Ichikawa

is a Japanese writer. She is best known for her debut novel Hunchback, for which she won the Akutagawa Prize in 2023.

Biography Ichikawa was born September 27, 1979. She has congenital myopathy and uses a wheelchair and a respirator, the latter of which she has used since the age of 13. She has an older sister, who also has congenital myopathy. She decided to become a novelist when she was 20 years old, as she felt her career options were limited due to her disability. She first began to write light novels, but grew discouraged after a light novel she wrote failed to win a prize, and decided to instead write serious fiction.

At university, she began to research the representation of disabled people in literature, which inspired the writing of her novel Hunchback, Hunchback was published in 2023. The novel was well-received: it sold 230,000 copies She is the first disabled writer to win the Akutagawa Prize. and a translation by Polly Barton was released in 2025. The translation received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, both of which praised the social commentary of the novel. The English translation was longlisted for the International Booker Prize; the judges praised Hunchback for its criticism of ableism and sexism.

Works Träumerei's dream (トロイメライのみる夢は), 2018 (not yet translated) Hunchback , 2023 Ophelia no. 23 , 2024 (not yet translated) Pick up a Konpeitou (こんぺいとを拾う), 2024 (not yet translated) Suicide the heartbeat (音の心中), 2024 (not yet translated) Girl's spine (女の子の背骨), 2025 (not yet translated) Conscientious objection (良心的兵役拒否), 2025 (not yet translated) (serialized) 1 Looking back at the witty phrases (洒落た文句に振り返りゃ) 2 Mama (ママ) 3 Balloon papa (風船のパパ) Evil role (悪のロール), 2025 (not yet translated) Pow(d)er (Pow(d)er), 2025 (not yet translated) Luck (運), 2025 (not yet translated)

Awards and recognition 2023: Bungakukai Prize for New Writers for Hunchback 2023: Akutagawa Prize for Hunchback 2025: Longlisted for the International Booker Prize for Hunchback