PR poster for "The Wheat Will Not Wither." Art by Sachiyo Kaneko. Hotate Shinkawa, author of "My Ex-Boyfriend's Will," releases new novel for the 50th anniversary of the Nankai Shimbun newspaper. The "main story" of the newspaper novel "The Wheat Will Not Wither" by popular author Hotate Shinkawa will finally begin serialization in the Nankai Shimbun newspaper on July 1, 2026. "The Wheat Will Not Wither" is a special project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Nankai Shimbun newspaper. Shin Nihonkai Shimbun Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: 2-chome Tomiyasu, Tottori City, President: Toru Yoshioka) commissioned Shinkawa to write a novel set in Tottori Prefecture with the Arid Land Research Center of Tottori University (Tottori City, Arid Land Research Center) as its theme, and the author readily accepted, making the project a reality. The work began serialization on May 12, 2026, and the 20 installments of the "Prologue" until the end of that month depicted the meeting and growing connection between Usama, a student from Sudan, and the protagonist, Takada, at the Arid Land Research Center. What will become of Usama, who has returned to Sudan, Takada's wavering emotions, and the research on wheat? The story will expand to Sudan, and the plot will move forward even more dramatically. The story is scheduled to continue until around January 2027. Please look forward to future developments along with the illustrations by Sachiyo Kaneko. To the site where the novel "The Wheat Will Not Wither" is published "The Wheat Will Not Wither" will also be distributed on the digital version of the Nankai Shimbun newspaper. Shin Nihonkai Shimbun Co., Ltd. will publish the main story in the Nankai Shimbun newspaper from July 1, and will also simultaneously distribute it on the digital news site "Net Nihonkai" (for subscribers only). Those outside Tottori Prefecture who do not receive the print newspaper will be able to read the serialized novel in real time. Digital version includes past