2025 Nobel Prize in Literature

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2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
László Krasznahorkai
"for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art."
Date
  • 9 October 2025
    (announcement)
  • 10 December 2025
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First award1901
Website2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
← 2024 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 2026 →

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai (born 1954) "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art." He is the second Hungarian Nobel laureate in Literature after Imre Kertész in 2002.

Laureate

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Main article: László Krasznahorkai

A Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for his dense, philosophical prose and apocalyptic vision of modern life, Krasznahorkai gained international recognition with his debut novel Satantango (1985), a haunting portrayal of decay and despair in a collapsing village, later adapted into a film by Béla Tarr. His writing often explores chaos, isolation, and the search for meaning in an unstable world.

Among his acclaimed works are The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), War and War (1999), and Seiobo There Below (2008), which won the Best Translated Book Award. His collaborations with Béla Tarr, especially Werckmeister Harmonies, brought his dark, meditative storytelling to global audiences. Krasznahorkai’s style—marked by long, winding sentences and profound reflection—has earned him the reputation as one of Europe’s most challenging and visionary contemporary writers.

Reactions

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Writing for The Atlantic, Walt Hunter said: "László Krasznahorkai is unusually experimental for a Nobel Prize winner, but in an unstable world, his selection feels perfectly timely."[1]

"Krasznahorkai richly deserves the prize", novelist Hari Kunzru said. “He has a reputation as an austere figure of European high culture, and indeed some of his work is uncompromisingly bleak and difficult, but he’s also a curious, playful and very funny writer."[2]

Nobel Committee

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The 2025 Nobel Committee consists of the following members:[3]

Committee Members
Seat No. Picture Name Elected Position Profession
4 Anders Olsson
(b. 1949) 		2008 committee chair literary critic, literary historian
11 Mats Malm
(b. 1964) 		2018 associate member
permanent secretary 		translator, literary historian, editor
9 Ellen Mattson
(b. 1963) 		2019 member novelist, essayist
14 Steve Sem-Sandberg
(b. 1958) 		2021 member journalist, author, translator
13 Anne Swärd
(b. 1969) 		2019 member novelist
16 Anna-Karin Palm
(b. 1961) 		2023 associate member novelist, culture writer

References

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  1. ^ Hunter, Walt (9 October 2025). "Why the Latest Nobel Prize Winner Makes Perfect Sense". The Atlantic.
  2. ^ Loffhagen, Emma (9 October 2025). "László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel prize in literature 2025". The Guardian.
  3. ^ The Nobel Committee 2025 – Nobel Prize in Literature svenskaakademien.se
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