Internationally acclaimed author Keiichiro Hirano shares his insights, vision and passion for the written word. Keiichiroh Hirano Novelist The compulsion to pour one's imagination onto paper is powerful for some of us. Those individuals with this particular and wonderful compulsion could no more not write than not breathe. Such is the case with novelist Keiichiro Hirano. Hirano's writing muse has earned him awards, such as the 120th Akutagawa Award in 1999, which he won while still a student at Kyoto University. His writing has also led him to live in Paris for a year, where he was a cultural ambassador appointed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and to travel through out Europe, giving lectures and talks. His incredible body of work has earned an international following in countries including France, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Sweden, Egypt, Japan and beyond. His innate writing style has been called precocious and luxuriant, demonstrating an exhaustive knowledge of his subject matter. His works include "Nisshoku", "Kekkai", "Dawn, and "Watashi Towa Nani Ka—'Kojin' Kara 'Bunjin' E". Hirano also has a long-running novel called "Kuhaki wo Mitashinasai" in the "Morning" comic magazine. Hirano continues his work as one of the selectors for the Yukio Mishima Award and Higashikawa International Photo Festival. With each story and novel he has written, it only becomes more obvious that, for Keiichiro Hirano, the siren call to write is irresistible...something for which we should ...