Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai, whose philosophical, bleakly funny novels often unfold in single sentences, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his“compelling and visionary oeuvre”.

Krasznahorkai follows in the footsteps of literary greats including Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus and Toni Morrison in winning the prestigious award.

The literature prize has been awarded by the Nobel committee of the Swedish Academy 117 times to a total of 121 winners. Last year's prize was won by South Korean author Han Kang for her body of work that the committee said“confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”.

The literature prize is the fourth to be announced this week, following the 2025 Nobels in medicine, physics and chemistry.