Taguchi, Randy: - Randy Taguchi first began writing online in 1996 and soon attracted a large following in Japan, where she is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of the Internet." She is a popular and prolific author, whose work includes a busy blog, many short stories and essays, and fourteen novels, two of which-Outlet and Fujisan-have been translated into English. She was one of the major supporters of the Fukushima Kids' Summer Camp program, which helped children impacted by the 2011 earthquake. Her work, Outlet (Konsento in Japan), was commended by a leading light of contemporary Japanese literature, Ryu Murakami, as one of the best novels he had read in a decade. The novel also went on to become a finalist for the prestigious Naoki Prize.