Alice Munro wins 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature

11 October 2013 Books+Publishing

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013 has been awarded to Canadian author Alice Munro, who was called a ‘master of the contemporary short story’ by the Swedish Academy.

The 82-year-old author was announced as the winner of the award on 10 October by Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. ‘She is a fantastic portrayer of human beings,’ said Englund.

‘This is so surprising and wonderful,’ said Munro in a statement via her US publisher Penguin Random House. ‘I am dazed by all the attention and affection that has been coming my way this morning,’ said Munro. ‘I hope it fosters further interest in all Canadian writers. I also hope that this brings further recognition to the short story form.’

Munro’s first book-length work, the story collection Dance of the Happy Shades (Ebury), was published in 1971, following her 1968 collection of stories, Lives of Girls and Women (various imprints), which critics described as a Bildungsroman. Her long list of works also includes Who Do You Think You Are? (Penguin, 1978), The Moons of Jupiter (Vintage, 1982), Runaway (Vintage, 2004), The View from Castle Rock (Chatto & Windus, 2006), Too Much Happiness (Vintage, 2009), and the collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (Vintage, 2001), which was adapted to film as Away from Her. Munro’s most recent collection is Dear Life (Vintage, 2012).

Random House Australia publishing director Nikki Christer told Books+Publishing that everyone at Random House is ‘thrilled that Munro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature’. ‘Alice Munro encapsulates whole lives in beautiful, unvarnished prose. She writes how we think, how we feel, how we love. For many of us, reading Alice Munro is like coming home.’

Random House Australia has also confirmed that it is reprinting all of Munro’s backlist, which is currently available in ebook formats.

‘Munro is acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling, which is characterised by clarity and psychological realism,’ said a statement by the Swedish Academy. ‘Some critics consider her a Canadian Chekhov. Her stories are often set in small town environments, where the struggle for a socially acceptable existence often results in strained relationships and moral conflicts—problems that stem from generational differences and colliding life ambitions.’

The Nobel Prize for Literature carries a cash prize of eight million krona (approximately A $1.32 million). Munro will be presented with the award at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December, which is the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.

The 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature was presented to Chinese writer Mo Yan.

Category: Local news