The Age of the Fountain Pen: A Collection of Shogo Sato's Early, Now-Rare Short Stories, Published as a Bunko Book on June 10, 2026 by Kobunsha

A novelist writes novels with a fountain pen.

There was a young man who dreamed of filling the squares of manuscript paper with a Montblanc masterpiece, now called the Meisterstück.

He wrote his novel on Kokuyo 400-character manuscript paper with a Pilot fountain pen.

His debut contest entry, far exceeding the 250-page limit at about 700 pages, was titled 'Women Ride on Brooms' and was sent to a Tokyo publisher in an empty castella cake box.

After winning the contest with that work (retitled 'Eternal Half'), the young man received a Montblanc Meisterstück as a birthday gift from the mama of a snack bar he frequented.

He continued to fill the squares, staining his pinky and the manuscript paper with blue-black ink.

That young man will turn 71 this August. Having moved through the era of word processors, he now weaves stories on an iMac and MacBook, quietly watched over by six Montblanc Meisterstücks in a pen stand.

The collection includes 'Rain in Spain,' about a 27-year-old man who frequents telephone clubs and meets a married woman; 'Blue Umbrella,' his first professionally paid work; 'Trembling Woman,' contributed to the collaborative 'Seventeen Grains of Aphrodisiac'; and the fan-favorite 'Roommate,' among nine stories and two bonus pieces.

This long-awaited volume gathers only the elusive early works from the first decade of his writing life, born from fountain pens—a Pilot and the dream Montblanc Meisterstück—now difficult to obtain.

The origin of writer Shogo Sato!

[Table of Contents]

The Day John Lennon Was Shot Roommate Incisor On a Usual Morning Condom Trouble Trembling Woman How to Make Eggnog Rain in Spain Blue Umbrella Bonus: The Age of the Word Processor Niratama A Niratama B Afterword

[Author Information]

Shogo Sato

Born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1955. Debuted in 1983 by winning the 7th Subaru Literary Prize for 'Eternal Half.' Won the 6th Yamaoka Fūtarō Prize in 2015 for 'The Pigeon's Escape Method,' the 157th Naoki Prize in 2017 for 'The Phases of the Moon,' and the 20th Chuo Koron Literary Prize in 2025 for 'Ripe Persimmon,' which also placed second in the Japan Booksellers' Award. Major works include 'Y,' 'Jump,' '5,' 'Under Report,' 'Life Story,' 'Everything About Her,' 'Dance Hall,' and 'A Child is Born in Winter.'

[Book Details]

Title: 'The Age of the Fountain Pen: A Collection of Shogo Sato's Early Short Stories' Author: Shogo Sato Publisher: Kobunsha Release Date: Scheduled for June 10, 2026 (Wednesday) *May be delayed in some regions due to distribution conditions. Price: 858 yen (tax included) Format: Bunko (paperback) Purchase here: Amazon Rakuten Books