The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai. The Swedish Academy announced that it recognized him “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”
László Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter, is known for his dense, apocalyptic prose and philosophical depth. The prize was announced on 9 October 2025, by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
“I’m very proud to be in the line of some really great writers and poets,” he said in his first reaction.
“This is more than a catastrophe. I think now of the reaction from Samuel Beckett after the Nobel Prize, do you remember this so-called report? No question, no answer. Do you remember the sentence: “What a catastrophe.” That was his first sentence after he knew that he got the Nobel Prize, “What a catastrophe.” That’s why I told you first that this is more than a catastrophe, it’s happiness and proudness. I’m very happy and I’m very proud, because to be in the line which contains so many really great writers and poets gives me power to use my original language, the Hungarian language. I am really very proud and very happy to use this little language. I thank, first of all, the readers. I wish for everybody to get back the ability to use their fantasy, because without fantasy it’s an absolute different life. To read books and to enjoy and to be rich, because reading gives us more power to survive this very, very difficult time on Earth,” Krasznahorkai said to Jenny Rydén from the Nobel Prize on getting the call about the prize, the Nobel Prize website reported.
When Jenny Rydén asked his biggest sources of inspiration, Krasznahorkai said, “The bitterness. I am very sad if I think of the status of the world now. This is my deepest inspiration. This could also be an inspiration for the next generation or generations in literature. Inspiration to give something for the next generation, somehow to survive this time because these are very, very dark times and we need much more power in us to survive this time than before.”
Krasznahorkai’s work often explores humanity on the brink of collapse, transcendence, and revelation. He is known for combining apocalyptic themes with a powerful reaffirmation of art. Krasznahorkai previously received the Man Booker International Prize in 2015.
Born in 1954 in a town named Gyula near the Romanian border, Krasznahorkai became a literary sensation in Hungary with his first novel Sátántangó published in 1985.
His notable works include, Sátántangó (1985): His debut novel, which was a literary sensation in Hungary; The Melancholy of Resistance (1998): A book described as a ‘horror fantasy;’ Herscht 07769: A Novel (2025): His contemporary German epic set in Thüringen.
Last year, the literature Nobel was awarded to South Korean writer Han Kang. The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 11 million crowns (US$ 1.2 million).
