The Folio Society To Publish The First Ever Illustrated Edition of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, Featuring Beautifully Surreal Artwork by Acclaimed Series Artist Daniel Liévano
(September 15, 2025) A love story across parallel worlds, a violent detective thriller revolving around a mysterious cult—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus, with over one thousand pages of weird and wonderful storytelling, suffused with a heady dose of surrealness that is quintessential Murakami. Now the Folio Society, independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, will publish the first ever illustrated edition of Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus 1Q84, featuring beautifully surreal artwork by acclaimed series artist Daniel Liévano.
“This magnificent two-volume edition of Murakami’s magical realist epic is the latest addition to the Folio Murakami library,” said Folio Society Editor Sophia Schoepfer. “The overall package design is a tribute to magical realism — a nod to the alternate realities and dark, dreamlike sequences that fill 1Q84. Bound in luxurious purple cloth and held within an intricate foil-blocked binding in a dreamy palette of golds, pinks, and lilacs, this substantial, highly illustrated two-volume set will be a coveted release for fans and collectors alike.”
The lavishly illustrated edition of 1Q84 features a total of 12 full-page colour illustrations—7 single page illustrations and 5 double-page spreads—and over sixty motifs. Both cloth-bound volumes of the hefty two-volume edition are housed in a purple slipcase, gilded with a pink metallic foil and a die-cut circle that reveals a moon from the cover beneath. The bindings feature a scene from the novel that has been intricately blocked in multiple foils, while the illustrated endpapers are printed on purple paper, depicting a subtly different scene at the front and back of the books. The 1000+ page epic will be printed in two-colour, with purple and orange motifs and accents appearing throughout the text.
Tokyo, 1984–but not quite. Two moons hang in the sky, a sinister cult casts its shadow, and something has shifted in the air. As Aomame and Tengo move through their separate worlds, they begin to sense that their lives are quietly, uncannily linked. Murakami’s hypnotic novel is a sprawling, surreal love story wrapped in a mystery, all set in a reality that’s not quite real. Haunting, heart-tugging and deliciously disorienting, 1Q84 is the kind of book you emerge from blinking, unsure which world you’ve just left. Descend the emergency staircase of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway and enter a world where things are not what they seem!
“Illustrating Murakami has given me the opportunity to do something not all illustrators get to do: change styles without changing essence,” said artist Daniel Liévano. “I believe something similar happens in Murakami’s literature—regardless of whether a book is about twisted religious cults, wind-up birds, adolescents with unbearable pain, or talking cats, there’s always a leitmotif where artistic dancing is allowed, and the author’s identity quietly shines through. I’m deeply excited by the challenge of playfully adapting to the narrative novelty of each new book, yet I equally enjoy discovering what remains unchanged. I suppose that’s the everlasting mystery of identity itself.”
The Folio Society edition of 1Q84 will be available for £150 / US $215 from 4pm UK time (11am EST, 8am PT) on September 16, 2025 exclusively from https://www.foliosociety.com/
For more information, follow the Folio Society on social media:
- Instagram: @foliosociety
- Twitter: @foliosociety
- Facebook: @thefoliosociety
- TikTok: @foliosociety
- YouTube: @TheFolioSociety
- LinkedIn: The Folio Society Ltd
- Hashtag: #foliosociety
ABOUT HARUKI MURAKAMI
Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949. He grew up in Kobe and studied drama at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he later opened a jazz bar with his wife. In 1979 Murakami won the Gunzou New Writers Literature Prize for his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, which was followed by Pinball, 1973 (1980) and A Wild Sheep Chase (1982, Folio 2024). Further renown followed with Norwegian Wood (1987; Folio 2022), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994–95, Folio 2023), Kafka on the Shore (2002; Folio 2021) and 1Q84 (2009–10). To date, Murakami’s work has been translated into more than 50 languages and his accolades include the World Fantasy Award, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, and the Jerusalem Prize.
ABOUT DANIEL LIÉVANO
Daniel Liévano was born in Bogotá in 1988. As an editorial illustrator he has devoted most of his work to the creation of conceptual images for clients including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Economist, The Sunday Times, Victionary and The Lancet. As an author and illustrator, Daniel likes to explore abstraction, taking information from other media such as poetry and independent film. His experimental comic book, The Mountain of Reality (2018), was listed by Arcadia Magazine as among the best books published in Colombia and his second graphic novel, Gravity (2020), was awarded the Gold Medal in the Book category from The Society of Illustrators in New York. For the Folio Society he has illustrated Kafka on the Shore (2021), Norwegian Wood (2022), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (2023) and A Wild Sheep Chase (2024).
ABOUT THE FOLIO SOCIETY
The Folio Society, based in London, publishes beautifully produced, illustrated hardback books. From a single purchase to a lifetime of collecting, book lovers around the world can buy these exquisite editions exclusively from their website, foliosociety.com. Proudly independent for its 75-year history, in 2021 under the leadership of its CEO, Joanna Reynolds, The Folio Society became an Employee Ownership Trust. The Folio Society is committed to a progressive sharing of power and profit in publishing, and this is reflected in their new status.
The Folio Society publishes some of the best names in publishing past and present, across the globe in high specification, collector editions. Notable publications include Frank Herbert’s Dune, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Andrew Chaikin’s A Man on the Moon and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple among many other contemporary and classic titles including a publishing partnership with Marvel delivering the world-recognized, iconic brand’s luxury editions.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.