The Kiriyama Prize was an international literary award given to books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia. Its purpose was to help people learn more about each other in the region. Created in 1996, the prize was last given in 2008.

Winners include Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, Luis Alberto Urrea, Piers Vitebsky, Nadeem Aslam, Suketu Mehta, Shan Sa, Inga Clendinnen, Pascal Khoo Thwe, Rohinton Mistry, Patricia Grace, Peter Hessler, Michael David Kwan, Michael Ondaatje, Cheng Ch'ing-wen, Andrew X. Pham, Ruth Ozeki, Patrick Smith, and Alan Brown.

Prize

The prize was worth $30,000, divided equally between a non-fiction and a fiction winner. It was given by Pacific Rim Voices, a nonprofit group located in San Francisco, California. For the first three years, the prize was awarded to only one book, either fiction or non-fiction.

To qualify, a book had to focus on an important part of life or culture in one of four Pacific Rim areas: the North Pacific; Southeast Asia and the South Pacific; the Americas; and the Indian subcontinent. Books could be written in English or translated from another language into English. Publishers submitted books by late October each year. Separate groups of five judges, one for fiction and one for non-fiction, evaluated the entries. Judging took place between November and February. Finalists were announced at the end of February, and the prize was given at the end of March.

Judges included Alan Cheuse, Lauro H. Flores, James D. Houston, Sally Ito, Gish Jen, Chalmers Johnson, Nicholas Jose, Maxine Hong Kingston, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, Lisa See, Linda Spalding, Robert Sullivan, Gail Tsukiyama, Kathleen Tyau, and Jade Snow Wong.

Recipients

In 2007, the prize for fiction was given to Haruki Murakami. However, Murakami chose not to accept the award, stating that it was due to personal reasons.

(*) Note: In the first three years of the award (1998, 1997, and 1996), only one Kiriyama Prize was given, either for fiction or nonfiction.