is a Japanese writer, best known for his young adult mystery series Kotenbu, also known as the Classic Literature Club series.
Honobu Yonezawa was born in 1978 in the Gifu Prefecture.
From as young as he could remember, Yonezawa wanted to be a writer. At 11 years old, he wrote a sequel to H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, and started writing original novels in the second year of junior high school. In his second year of Kanazawa University studying literature, he started publishing his works on his site Hanmuden (æ±Â夢殿) (the website was temporarily shut down after his official debut and these works are currently unavailable). His early work were diverse in genre, but Yonezawa was struck when he read Kaoru Kitamura's Flying Horse (空é£Âã¶馬) and Princess in Rokunomiya (å Âã®宮ã®姫åÂÂ) while in university, and decided to turn his attention to writing mysteries.
After graduating from university, Yonezawa convinced his parents to let him try and attain his dream of writing a novel for two years. He got a job as a bookstore clerk in Takayama while he continued writing on the side. In 2001, he officially debuted with the novel Hyà Âka, (æ°·èÂÂ) which received an honorable mention in the 5th Kadokawa Gakuen Novel Young Person Mystery and Horror Category Awards (è§Âå·Âå¦åÂÂå°Â説大è³Â). His decision to submit was fueled by positive reception of Hyà Âka on his website Hanmuden, that he personally saw a future in the combination of light novels and mysteries, and because he was late for the deadline of another award. Hyà Âka became the first novel in a series dubbed the Classic Literature Club (å¤堸é¨) series, to be distributed by the newly established Sneaker Mystery Club within the Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint. Hyà Âka was soon followed with Gusha no Endorà Âru (æÂÂè ã®ã¨ã³ãÂÂãÂÂã¼ã«) in 2002.
However, when Yonezawa had completed the draft for the third and what he intended to be the final book in the Classic Literature Club series, the label was going on hiatus due to changing trends in the market, so he could not get it published. Despite this, he was approached by Tokyo Sogensha who inquired what he was working on, thanks partly to recommendations from writers Kiyoshi Kasai and Kazuki Sakuraba. When he explained the situation to the publisher, they asked to see the draft and after a few days they requested rights to publish it. After discussions between Kadokawa, Tokyo Sogensha and Yonezawa, they agreed to have the novel published, and after changing details such as the characters and the setting, Sayonara Yà Âsei (ãÂÂãÂÂãªãÂÂå¦Âç²¾) was published in 2004. It was featured in the magazine Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! (ãÂÂã®ãÂÂã¹ãÂÂãªã¼ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ!) in 2005, ranking 20th in the domestic category.
In the same year, he published Shunki Gentei Ichigo Taruto Jiken (æÂ¥æÂÂéÂÂå®ÂãÂÂã¡ãÂÂã¿ã«ãÂÂäºÂ件), the first novel of the Shà Âshimin (å°Âå¸Âæ°Â) series.
Around the same time, he moved from Gifu to Tà Âkyà Â.
In 2008, when Yonezawa published Hakanai Hitsuji tachi no Shukuen (Ã¥ÂÂãÂÂç¾ÂãÂÂã¡ã®ç¥Âå®´), he states that he started not only paying attention to the riddles present within his works, but also how they appeal to a wider audience. So when he published Oreta Ryà «kotsu (æÂÂãÂÂãÂÂç«Â骨) in 2010, which incorporated some fantasy elements to an otherwise classical mystery story, it won the 64th Mystery Writers of Japan Award for the following year.
In 2012, Kyoto Animation aired an anime adaptation of the Classic Literature Club series under the name of the first novel, Hyà Âka.
Since 2013, he has been on the selection committee for the Mysteries! Rookie of the Year Award (ãÂÂã¹ãÂÂãªã¼ãº!æ°人è³Â).
In 2014, his short story collection Mangan (æºÂé¡Â) was selected as one of the best mysteries in the Mystery ga Yomitai!, (ãÂÂã¹ãÂÂãªã¼ãÂÂèªÂã¿ãÂÂãÂÂ!) Shà «kan Bunshun Mystery Best 10, (é±åÂÂæÂÂæÂ¥ãÂÂã¹ãÂÂãªã¼ãÂÂã¹ãÂÂ10) and Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! It was ranked the top in domestic rankings and became the first book in history to receive three simultaneous rankings from different publications. It also won the 27th Yamamoto Shà «gorà  Prize and the 151st Naoki Prize.
In 2016, he was selected by literary magazine Granta in their Japanese edition as one of the Granta Best of Young Japanese Novelists.
In 2024, the first two novels of the Shà Âshimin Series were adapted into an anime produced by Lapin Track, and released under the name Shà Âshimin: How to Become Ordinary.
In 2026, his historical novel Kokurà Âjà  will be adapted into an movie, which is written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and released under the name Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner.