Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Born in 1954 in the southeastern Hungarian town of Gyula, Krasznahorkai rose to prominence with his debut novel Satantango in 1985. The work, set in a rural landscape similar to his birthplace, became a literary sensation in Hungary.

Among his acclaimed works is Herscht 07769, described as a major contemporary novel for its stark portrayal of social unrest in a small town in Thuringia, Germany, set against the legacy of German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach.

Krasznahorkai has also drawn inspiration from East Asia, producing lyrical works such as A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East (2003) and the celebrated Seiobo There Below (2008).

Last year, the prize in literature was awarded to South Korean author Han Kang for "her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."

The Nobel Prizes, established in accordance with the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901, are seen as some of the world’s most prestigious honors.

They are presented annually in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, with the economics prize later added in 1969 by Sweden’s central bank.

As reported earlier, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 has been awarded to Japanese Susumu Kitagawa, Australian Richard Robson, and American Omar Yaghi for developing “a new form of molecular architecture.”