Japanese Author Otani’s ‘The Night of Baba Yaga’ Wins Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation Award

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:34 JST, July 4, 2025

LONDON — The English translation of “The Night of Baba Yaga” by Akira Otani has won the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, the U.K.-based Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) announced Thursday night.

The CWA Daggers are a set of prestigious literary awards for mystery and crime fiction. This is the first time a Japanese author has won the prize.

“In a world full of real violence, fictional violence cannot survive. I would like to use this honor for world peace,” Otani, 44, said in her speech at the award ceremony in London.

The main character of the novel is a woman who is entrusted with protecting the daughter of a yakuza leader. With its vivid depictions of violence, the novel centers on women struggling against a male-centered society.

Kawade Shobo Shinsha, Ltd. published the book in Japan in 2020. In the United Kingdom, it was published in 2024 and won a prize for new novelists.

Born in Tokyo, Otani first gained attention in 2018 with her short story collection “Kanpeki janai Atashi-tachi” (We are not perfect), which focuses on relationships between women.