Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 awarded to Canadian author Anne Carson

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Canadian author Anne Carson for her “bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”

The Swedish Academy announced Carson as the 2026 Nobel laureate in literature on Thursday.

Carson succeeds Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature.


Also Read: Nobel Prize 2026 winners list: Check all laureates, categories and what they won

The Nobel Prize in Literature is one of six Nobel prizes established from the legacy of Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

The prize carries a cash award of 12 million Swedish kronor, along with a Nobel medal and diploma.

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature had been awarded 118 times to 122 individuals through 2025. The prize was not awarded in seven years: 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942 and 1943. With the 2026 announcement, the prize has now been awarded 119 times to 123 individuals.

Also Read: Nobel Prize explained: Who can nominate candidates and how are winners chosen?

The literature prize has been shared by two individuals on four occasions. No writer has won the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.

The youngest person to receive the literature Nobel was British author Rudyard Kipling, who was 41 when he won the award in 1907. The oldest was British writer Doris Lessing, who was 87 when she received the prize in 2007.

Nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature are kept secret for 50 years. The Swedish Academy does not disclose the names of nominees or details of the nominations until that period has passed.

Two laureates have declined the award. Boris Pasternak declined the prize in 1958 after pressure from Soviet authorities, while Jean-Paul Sartre declined it in 1964 as he had consistently refused official honours.