Haruki Murakami began to write at the age of 30 and blossomed into one of the premier writers of his generation. He has been awarded numerous honors in Japan as well as internationally, including the Franz Kafka Prize, the Jerusalem Prize and many others. He is known for his journalistic pieces, short stories and genre-defying novels, including The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, A Wild Sheep Chase, Wind/Pinball and 1Q84