Haruki Murakami to be celebrated with an evening of words and music in New York City

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FILE - Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami sits for photos during a news conference at the Waseda University in Tokyo on Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

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9:58 AM on Thursday, September 18

By HILLEL ITALIE

NEW YORK (AP) — Japanese author Haruki Murakami will be honored this December in Manhattan with an evening of words and music.

The Japan Society and The Town Hall are presenting “The Murakami Mix Tape,” which will include readings from Murakami's books and performances by jazz artist Jason Moran and others that draw from the many musical references in Murakami's books. Murakami himself is expected to give opening remarks at the Dec. 11 event at The Town Hall, where he will receive the Japan Society Award, previously given to Yoko Ono, Akira Kurosawa and Hideki Matsui among others.

“Haruki Murakami is one of the most singular authors on the planet,” Japan Society President & CEO Joshua W. Walker said in a statement. “We are honored now to build a singular night to celebrate him in New York City.”

A perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize, the 76-year-old Murakami is known for such novels as “IQ84,” “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” and “Norwegian Wood,” named for the Beatles song.