The Nobel prize in Literature 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” The Nobel committee at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden made this announcement on Thursday.
László Krasznahorkai was born in 1954 in the small town of Gyula in southeastern Hungary. His breakthrough came with Sátántangó (1985; Satantango, 2012), a bleak yet mesmerizing portrayal of a destitute rural community on a Hungarian collective farm. Krasznahorkai’s signature style—long, flowing sentences that capture the relentlessness of human experience—continued to evolve in works such as Az ellenállás melankóliája (1989; The Melancholy of Resistance, 1998), a feverish allegory of violence and anarchy in a small town.
Other notable epics include Háború és háború (1999; War & War , 2006), Báró Wenckheim hazatér (2016; Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming , 2019), and Herscht 07769 (2021; Herscht 07769: A Novel , 2024), each exploring themes of social collapse, human folly, and the search for meaning in a world poised between order and chaos.
Beyond his apocalyptic narratives, Krasznahorkai has expanded his literary vision to contemplative explorations inspired by his travels in East Asia. Works such as Északról hegy, Délről tó, Nyugatról utak, Keletről folyó (2003; A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East , 2022) and Seiobo járt odalent (2008; Seiobo There Below , 2013). Shorter works like Aprómunka egy palotáért (2018; Spadework for a Palace , 2020) further display his versatility, blending humor, historical reflection, and philosophical insight.
Krasznahorkai, 71, has previously received many other prominent awards including the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. The Booker judges praised his “extraordinary sentences, sentences of incredible length that go to incredible lengths, their tone switching from solemn to madcap to quizzical to desolate as they go their wayward way.”
"He is a hypnotic writer," Krasznahorkai's English language translator, the poet George Szirtes, told AFP.
"He draws you in until the world he conjures echoes and echoes inside you, until it's your own vision of order and chaos", he added.
The literature prize is the fourth in the series to be announced for this year, following the Nobels in medicine, physics and chemistry.
On Wednesday, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University , Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne , and Omar M Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."
Also read: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025: Three scientists win award for 'development of metal–organic frameworks'; honoured for 'creating new rules'
On Tuesday, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke (UC Berkeley), Michel H. Devoret ( Yale University and UC Santa Barbara), and John M. Martinis (UC Santa Barbara) for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
Also read: Nobel Prize in Physics 2025: John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis win award for breakthroughs in quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation - details
And the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Dr Shimon Sakaguchi for explaining how the immune system distinguishes between harmful pathogens and the body’s own cells.
Also read: Trio gets Nobel Prize in Medicine for work on immune system
Here’s all you need to know about the Nobel Prize in Literature:
Recent Laureates
2024 – Han Kang: “For her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
2022 – Annie Ernaux: “For the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.”
2020 - Louise Glück: “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”
The Nobel Prize money
Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 2,2 billion) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.”
The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” The Nobel Prize amount for 2025 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize, and the winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and a diploma.
Upcoming Nobel Announcements 2025
Peace Prize: Friday, October 10, at 11:00 CEST
Economic Sciences Prize: Monday, October 13, at 11:45 CEST
László Krasznahorkai was born in 1954 in the small town of Gyula in southeastern Hungary. His breakthrough came with Sátántangó (1985; Satantango, 2012), a bleak yet mesmerizing portrayal of a destitute rural community on a Hungarian collective farm. Krasznahorkai’s signature style—long, flowing sentences that capture the relentlessness of human experience—continued to evolve in works such as Az ellenállás melankóliája (1989; The Melancholy of Resistance, 1998), a feverish allegory of violence and anarchy in a small town.
Other notable epics include Háború és háború (1999; War & War , 2006), Báró Wenckheim hazatér (2016; Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming , 2019), and Herscht 07769 (2021; Herscht 07769: A Novel , 2024), each exploring themes of social collapse, human folly, and the search for meaning in a world poised between order and chaos.
Beyond his apocalyptic narratives, Krasznahorkai has expanded his literary vision to contemplative explorations inspired by his travels in East Asia. Works such as Északról hegy, Délről tó, Nyugatról utak, Keletről folyó (2003; A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East , 2022) and Seiobo járt odalent (2008; Seiobo There Below , 2013). Shorter works like Aprómunka egy palotáért (2018; Spadework for a Palace , 2020) further display his versatility, blending humor, historical reflection, and philosophical insight.
Krasznahorkai, 71, has previously received many other prominent awards including the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. The Booker judges praised his “extraordinary sentences, sentences of incredible length that go to incredible lengths, their tone switching from solemn to madcap to quizzical to desolate as they go their wayward way.”
"He is a hypnotic writer," Krasznahorkai's English language translator, the poet George Szirtes, told AFP.
"He draws you in until the world he conjures echoes and echoes inside you, until it's your own vision of order and chaos", he added.
The literature prize is the fourth in the series to be announced for this year, following the Nobels in medicine, physics and chemistry.
On Wednesday, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University , Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne , and Omar M Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."
Also read: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025: Three scientists win award for 'development of metal–organic frameworks'; honoured for 'creating new rules'
On Tuesday, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke (UC Berkeley), Michel H. Devoret ( Yale University and UC Santa Barbara), and John M. Martinis (UC Santa Barbara) for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
Also read: Nobel Prize in Physics 2025: John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis win award for breakthroughs in quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation - details
And the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Dr Shimon Sakaguchi for explaining how the immune system distinguishes between harmful pathogens and the body’s own cells.
Also read: Trio gets Nobel Prize in Medicine for work on immune system
Here’s all you need to know about the Nobel Prize in Literature:
- The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 117 times to 121 laureates between 1901 and 2024.
- It was not awarded on seven occasions — in 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943.
- So far, 18 women authors have received the honour.
- The first was Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, who won in 1909 and later became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1914.
- The youngest-ever literature laureate was Rudyard Kipling, who received the prize in 1907 at the age of 41.
- The oldest was Doris Lessing, honoured in 2007 at 87.
- No author has ever received the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
- Notably, Rabindranath Tagore, Sinclair Lewis, Theodor Mommsen, Luigi Pirandello, Pearl Buck, Bertrand Russell, and William Faulkner each won the award after being nominated only once.
Recent Laureates
2024 – Han Kang: “For her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
2022 – Annie Ernaux: “For the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.”
2020 - Louise Glück: “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”
The Nobel Prize money
Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 2,2 billion) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.”
The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” The Nobel Prize amount for 2025 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize, and the winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and a diploma.
Upcoming Nobel Announcements 2025
Peace Prize: Friday, October 10, at 11:00 CEST
Economic Sciences Prize: Monday, October 13, at 11:45 CEST
You may also like
EastEnders' Joel's 'exit sealed' as harrowing attack on Vicki leaves viewers 'sickened'
Woman 'tested poison on dogs' before Rio de Janeiro man killed by toxic bean stew
Russia planning own space station: Former Russian cosmonaut
US imposes sanctions on China refinery, others for Iran oil purchases
Turki Al-Sheikh offers Man Utd takeover update after claiming 'deal is advanced'
