Kazuma Kamachi

Kazuma Kamachi (鎌池和馬, Kamachi Kazuma) is the pen name of a Japanese author who has published over 100 light novel volumes. He is best known for the creation of the A Certain Magical Index franchise which, as of 2019, has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has been licensed in North America by Yen Press with the first novel being released in Q4 2014. Kazuma Kamachi has stated that ever since he was a child, he had always wanted to become a novelist, spending his student days in trying to achieve this dream. However, his intention was never to become a popular writer. From the time he was in junior high school, bit-by-bit he started writing, but it was not until he graduated from high school that he ever completed any of his work. Kamachi submitted his novel Schrödinger's Machi (シュレディンガーの街) to the 9th Dengeki Game Novel Prize, but it was rejected in the third round.Despite this, his work caught the attention of editor-in-charge of the award, Kazuma Miki, who offered him a chance to write another work. For around a year, Kamachi exchanged and discussed prototype stories with Miki, and made his debut with A Certain Magical Index in April 2004 after 6 or 7 revisions. The initial volume was written as a complete story in case that it would not sell, however after selling well, it was decided that it would become a series. A Certain Magical Index would soon be adapted to a manga, then to an anime, a movie, games, etc. turning into an extremely popular franchise. This, in turn, led to the series breaking many Dengeki Bunko, the series' publisher, records, such as being the first series to have 1, 2, and then 3 million copies in circulation. In April 2016, Kamachi signed a contract to write for Kazuma Miki's new company Straight Edge Inc. On July 10, 2020, he became the first Dengeki writer to have published 100 volumes under their label. He states that many of his pre-debut works, including the prototypes he sent to Miki, remains stored away at his house.

第9回電撃ゲーム小説大賞に『シュレディンガーの街』を応募、第3次選考まで残るも落選。しかし、応募した作品そのものは担当編集者の三木一馬の目に留まり、後に三木から「書いてみないか？」と連絡を受けて執筆を始める。それから1年ほどの間「武者修行」として何本も試作執筆のやりとりと話し合いを続け]、さらに6、7回の改稿を重ねて書き上げた作品『とある魔術の禁書目録』で2004年4月にデビュー。第1巻は当初売れなかった時のリスクを考え、単巻完結のつもりで書いたが、無名の新人としては快挙とされるほど相当売れたとのことで、その後のシリーズ化が決まった。同シリーズはコミカライズ、アニメ化、劇場版などのメディアミックスが行われる人気作となり、シリーズ累計発行部数は電撃文庫史上初の1000万部、2000万部、3000万部を突破している。2016年4月に株式会社ストレートエッジの契約作家となる。2020年7月10日に電撃文庫初となる単一作者による刊行100冊を突破した。 子供のころに小説家の夢を一度断念しており、学生時代も漠然とした将来の夢の中の1つにあっただけで、本気で小説家を志してはいなかったという。中学生くらいの時から少しずつ小説を書き始めたが、当時の作品はどれも途中で終わってしまい一度も完成させておらず、きちんと1から最後まで書き上げるようになったのは高校を卒業するころで、武者修行中の原稿も合わせてデビューまでの作品の数々は自宅に眠っている。