Canadian author Alice Munro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The press release described her career in a single phrase: “master of the contemporary short story.”
The author shared this statement about her award:
This is so surprising and wonderful. I am dazed by all the attention and affection that has been coming my way this morning. It is such an honour to receive this wonderful recognition from the Nobel Committee and I send them my thanks … When I began writing there was a very small community of Canadian writers and little attention was paid by the world. Now Canadian writers are read, admired and respected around the globe. I’m so thrilled to be chosen as this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature recipient. I hope it fosters further interest in all Canadian writers. I also hope that this brings further recognition to the short story form.
Munro has published extensively at The New Yorker. You can read a number of her short stories at this link. Here’s more from the Nobel site:
Munro is acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling, which is characterized by clarity and psychological realism. 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. Her texts often feature depictions of everyday but decisive events, epiphanies of a kind, that illuminate the surrounding story and let existential questions appear in a flash of lightning.
Once again, the UK gamblers had a lead on the winner. According to the betting site Ladbrokes, Alice Munro has 4/1 odds to win the Nobel Prize for Literature on Monday.
Last year, the same betting site gave Nobel laureate Mo Yan 8/1 odds of winning the prize.