Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai has been declared the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, as announced by the Swedish Academy. The prestigious award, valued at 11 million Swedish crowns (£870,000 / $1.2 million), is a longstanding tradition originating from the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish dynamite inventor and entrepreneur. Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Prizes have recognized outstanding contributions in literature, science, and peace.
Mats Malm, the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, praised Krasznahorkai for his profound and forward-thinking body of work, which upholds the significance of art even in times of great turmoil. Notable previous recipients of the literature prize include Sully Prudhomme, the French poet and essayist who received the inaugural award in 1901, William Faulkner, the American novelist and short story writer in 1949, Winston Churchill, the wartime Prime Minister of Britain in 1953, Orhan Pamuk from Turkey in 2006, and Jon Fosse from Norway in 2023.
In the preceding year, the prize was bestowed upon Han Kang, a South Korean writer, marking her as the 18th female laureate and the first South Korean to be honored. Despite the accolades, the Swedish Academy’s selections have often sparked controversy. The decision to award Bob Dylan, the American singer-songwriter, in 2016 raised debates regarding the definition of literature, while the recognition of Peter Handke, an Austrian writer, in 2019 was met with criticism due to his association with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s funeral in 2006.
The prize committee has faced allegations of elitism, anti-American sentiment, and overlooking renowned literary figures like Lev Tolstoy from Russia, Émile Zola from France, and James Joyce from Ireland.