Hungarian László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize for Literature 2025

The world’s literary community turned its eyes to the Swedish capital of Stockholm today, 9 October, as the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, whose visionary body of work was hailed as reaffirming the enduring power of art.

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his complex, demanding novels that explore dystopian and melancholic themes with a distinctive prose style characterised by long, flowing sentences, often without full stops.

His debut novel Satantango (1985), set in a remote and desolate Hungarian countryside, was a landmark work that earned immediate literary acclaim and was later adapted into a highly original film by director Béla Tarr. The novel’s narrative portrays a group of residents living in silent anticipation on a declining collective farm, disrupted by the return of enigmatic figures who bring both hope and menace.

Beyond Hungary, he has travelled widely, drawing inspiration from East Asia and other locales, influencing books such as War and War (1999), which follows an archivist’s quest from Budapest to New York. His literary voice is often described as visionary and compelling, earning praise from critics like American writer Susan Sontag, who called him contemporary literature’s "master of the apocalypse".

Other Nobel Prize announcements so far

The announcement came as part of the ongoing week of Nobel Prize presentations, which also saw major accolades in medicine, chemistry and physics. As anticipation builds for the upcoming Peace Prize reveal in Oslo, this year’s distinguished laureates are being celebrated for advancing knowledge, inspiring creativity, and fostering global progress.

The ongoing festivities commenced on 6 October with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, recognising Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their breakthroughs in immune tolerance. Their work promises new directions in the fight against autoimmune disease and cancer.

On 7 October, the spotlight shifted to physics, where John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis were honoured for their discovery of quantum tunnelling in electric circuits, advancing quantum technology beyond the laboratory.

Chemistry’s prize was revealed on 8 October, awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal–organic frameworks, a new class of materials with applications in energy, environment, and industry.

The Nobel Peace Prize, traditionally attracting global attention and debate, will be announced from Oslo tomorrow, 10 October. Among possible contenders are political leaders and activists whose work has shaped conflict resolution in recent years.

The final announcement, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, is set for 13 October. As in previous years, each laureate will formally receive their award at a ceremony in December, marking the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

Reporters from around the world are attending the live proceedings, which continue to showcase the best of international achievement.

With agency inputs