It was established in 1996 by the editors of Mephisto magazine and is awarded on an irregular basis.
The winning work is published by Kodansha and the winner receives a statue of Sherlock Holmes.
The BBB is a publishing group in which some Mephisto Prize winners participate.
The group was established in 2012 by Ryusui Seiryoin and other Mephisto Prize winners to translate their works into English and publish them as ebooks.
The first three stories of Nisio Isin's Monogatari series were published in the magazine in 2005-2006.