Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been named the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy. The prestigious award is valued at 11 million crowns ($1.6 million Cdn). Mats Malm, the permanent secretary at the Swedish Academy, commended Krasznahorkai for his remarkable body of work that highlights the enduring power of art amidst chaotic times.
At 71 years old, Krasznahorkai’s accolade follows his previous win of the Man Booker International Prize a decade ago. Renowned for his novel “The Melancholy of Resistance” from 1989, which later secured the German Bestenliste Prize, Krasznahorkai was dubbed by American critic Susan Sontag as a leading figure in contemporary literature known as the “master of the apocalypse.”
Born in the small town of Gyula in southeast Hungary, Krasznahorkai’s narratives traverse various landscapes, including central Europe’s secluded villages, regions of Hungary and Germany, and the Far East, influenced by his profound encounters in China and Japan. His breakthrough novel, “Satantango,” published in 1985, gained widespread acclaim in Hungary for its portrayal of rural life and the aftermath of communist rule.
Krasznahorkai frequently draws inspiration from Franz Kafka’s seminal work, “The Castle,” acknowledging the profound impact Kafka’s writing has had on his own creative process. The author has collaborated extensively with Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr, with several of his stories adapted into feature films by Tarr, notably “Satantango,” a cinematic piece spanning over seven hours, and “The Werckmeister Harmonies.”
Notable past recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature include George Bernard Shaw, Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Canadian author Alice Munro in 2013. Krasznahorkai joins the ranks of Hungarian laureates, following Imre Kertesz’s win in 2002. The Nobel Prizes will be formally awarded to the recipients on December 10th, commemorating the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.
Stay tuned for the upcoming announcements of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday. The Nobel Peace Prize selection committee reported an increase in the number of candidates for this year, with 338 nominations submitted. The nomination phase for the peace prize concluded on January 31st.