Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai receives Nobel Prize for Literature
His editor refers to Krasznahorkai as the “master of literary hallucination.”
Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature for his “captivating and visionary work that affirms the power of art in the midst of apocalyptic horror”, announced this Thursday in Stockholm, Mats Malm, permanent secretary and spokesperson for the Swedish Academy.
The jury praised Krasznahorkai’s “extraordinary linguistic vitality”, his “powerful epic style of musical inspiration” and his “great lyrical beauty”, placing him in the Central European literary tradition of Franz Kafka and Thomas Bernhard.
His first novel, “Satanstango”, published in 1985, and many other works have received international awards. Some of them were made into films.
Krasznahorkai was born on January 5, 1954 in Gyula, Hungary. He first studied Law in Szeged, then Hungarian Language and Literature and Philosophy in Budapest. He currently resides most of the year in Vienna and Trieste.
The winner, famous for his absurd style and grotesque exaggeration, expressed his happiness and pride, stating that he did not expect the “fantastic news”. He thanked readers and wished people to regain their capacity for fantasy. He planned to celebrate with “port and champagne” in Frankfurt.
But first he would have to deal with German bureaucracy and visit the “Anmeldeamt” (civil registry office) to register his residence in Germany, since, at the time of the announcement, the 71-year-old author was in Frankfurt visiting his publisher S. Fischer Verlag.
“I am very happy and proud to be part of a cast that includes so many great writers and poets,” said Krasznahorkai.
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