Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in Literature 2025

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 was awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” Announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on 9 October 2025, this honour celebrates Krasznahorkai’s epic writing, known for its long sentences, philosophical depth, and exploration of chaos and order. The laureate joins a prestigious group of literary giants recognized for their impact on world literature.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2025

László Krasznahorkai (Hungary)

Cited for: His visionary novels and allegories, which reflect the relentlessness of human experience and confront social collapse, existential questions, and the search for meaning.

Major works: “Sátántangó” (Satantango), “The Melancholy of Resistance,” “War & War,” “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming”.

Key Highlights of László Krasznahorkai

• László Krasznahorkai is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter born in 1954 in Gyula, Hungary.
• He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2025 for his visionary novels exploring themes of apocalypse, chaos, and human resilience.
• Known for complex, postmodern prose with long sentences and philosophical depth.
• Debut novel: “Satantango” (1985), later adapted into a film by Béla Tarr.
• Other major works: “The Melancholy of Resistance,” “War & War,” “Seiobo There Below,” and “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming”.
• Past winner of the International Man Booker Prize (2015) and many other international literary awards.
• Lived under communist rule; only able to travel abroad post-1987; his writing is influenced by his life in Hungary, travels in Asia, and European exile.
• Regarded as a “master of the apocalypse” for depicting existential dread, chaos, and order in small towns and philosophical landscapes.
• Collaborated frequently with filmmaker Béla Tarr, whose movies visualize his literary style.
• He often writes reclusively, drawing inspiration from culture, travel, and history.

Nobel Prize Details and Global Significance

• Nobel Laureates receive a gold medal, diploma, and prize money—SEK 11 million for 2025.
• The choice of Krasznahorkai highlights the importance of Central European literature and its contributions to world literature.
• The Literature Prize is the fourth in the Nobel series for 2025, following the announcements in medicine, physics, and chemistry.

Previous Literature Nobel Laureates

2024: Han Kang (South Korea)

For her poetic prose confronting historical traumas and exploring human fragility

2023: Jon Fosse (Norway)

For innovative plays and prose giving voice to the unsayable

2022: Annie Ernaux (France)

For her courage and clinical acuity in uncovering collective memory roots