[6] In 2003, Sakuraba made her first big break with the light novel series Gosick.
[4] In addition, her novels Suitei Shōjo and A Lollypop or A Bullet published in 2004 were highly acclaimed,[7] and in 2005, her novel Shōjo ni wa Mukanai Shokugyō attracted attention as her first work for the general public.
[7] In 2007, she won the 60th Mystery Writers of Japan Award in the long and serial short story category for her work Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas published in 2006.
Royalties from the first edition printing of GOSICK VII were donated to the Japanese Red Cross to aid victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas was the winner of the 60th Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 2007, and Watashi no Otoko (My Man) won the 138th Naoki Prize in the latter half of the same year.
In addition to her full-length works, Sakuraba has contributed short stories to a number of literary anthologies.