Don’t Laugh at Other People’s Sex Lives – Nao-Cola Yamazaki

in conversation with Nozomi Uematsu
Sat 24 October, 2026 at 3:00 pm

A rare chance to meet one of Japan’s most popular writers. Nao-Cola Yamazaki is a prize-winning Japanese author known for their frank, contemporary depictions of daily life, love, and relationships. They pride themselves on writing ‘things no one else can say in words anyone can understand’. They have won the Bungei Prize and the Shimase Award for Love Stories and been nominated multiple times for the Akutagawa Prize. Their debut novella, Don’t Laugh at Other People’s Sex Lives (2004), won the prestigious Bungei Prize and was later adapted into a major film. A smash hit in Japan it sold over 250,000 copies . With a refreshing prose style , it centres around a strange and beguiling love affair that defies prediction or explanation.

Dr Nozomi Uematsu is a Lecturer in Japanese Studies in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies at the University of Sheffield.

‘First love is perfectly imperfect, and Yamazaki renders it here with all the charm and respect that it deserves.’ Sarah Jessica Parker

Nao-Cola Yamazaki is a best selling, prize-winning author who has written over a dozen novels and essay collections. Their work has appeared in translation in Words Without Borders and Asymptote. This is a pen name, chosen because of a love for Diet Coke.

This event will have a Japanese language translator

Presented with the Japan Foundation