Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature, along with a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, worth about $1.2 million. The 76-year-old writer was announced as this year’s laureate by the Swedish Academy for a body of work that has challenged conventional……
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature, along with a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, worth about $1.2 million.
The 76-year-old writer was announced as this year’s laureate by the Swedish Academy for a body of work that has challenged conventional boundaries between poetry, fiction and scholarship.
The Nobel committee selected Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature”.
Carson was informed of the award by Ingrid Carlberg, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, shortly before the public announcement.
Carlberg said Carson was in Iceland when she received the news.
“She had time to tell me was that she is, for the moment, in Iceland, where she is listening to the wind,” Carlberg said.
“She was taken by surprise but very happy. I could hear that in her voice.”
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Canada’s Anne Carson Wins Nobel Literature Prize
Anders Olsson, chairman of the Swedish Academy’s Nobel Committee for Literature, praised Carson’s contribution to contemporary writing.
He said she had “broken away from lyrical poetry bound to the narrative self and inspired new forms of contemporary literature”.
“This method of writing leads to playful and ironic works that move not only between classical and modern poetry but also between different genres and artforms,” Olsson said.
In a post on social media, The Nobel Prize announced: “The 2026 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the 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’.”
Carson’s notable works include The Glass Essay, Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse, Nox, Float and The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos.
She has also translated ancient Greek literature and spent more than three decades teaching classics.
The Nobel Prize in Literature recognises a writer’s body of work and is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious literary honours.
The 12 million Swedish kronor prize is equivalent to about £900,000 or $1.2 million.
