Natsuo Kirino was born in Japan in 1951.

Kirino’s novel Out, her first to be published in English, was nominated for an Edgar Award. Her other works have won many awards in Japan such as the Grand Prix, the Naoki Award for her novel Soft Cheeks, the Izumi Kyoka Award, and the Shibata Renzaburo Award. Several of her novels have been made into feature films.