Teru Shimazu (1969–) is a Japanese novelist who began writing fiction after a career as a company employee. Her work focuses on the lives of ordinary people, exploring work, family, and community with warmth and quiet precision. After winning the 96th All Yomimono Prize for New Writers in 2016 with "Ane to Imōto" ("The Older Sister and the Younger Sister"), she made her book debut in 2019 with the short story collection "Snack Hakaba". In 2026, she received the 174th Naoki Prize for "Café no Kaerimichi" ("The Road Home from the Café"), a historical novel portraying the lives of café hostesses in Tokyo's Ueno district from the Taishō to the early Shōwa period, illuminating the changing times through the experiences of ordinary women.
