Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize in literature, first Canada-based writer to win award One of the world’s foremost practitioners of the short story has won its biggest literary prize. Alice Munro, the 82-year-old author from Wingham, Ontario was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. “This is so surprising and wonderful,” said Munro in a statement supplied by her publisher. “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, whom the Royal Swedish Academy called a “master of the contemporary short story,” is only the 13th woman to win the prize since it was founded in 1901, and the first since German writer Herta Müller in 2009. Recent winners include the Chinese novelist Mo Yan; the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer; and the Peruvian-Spanish writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.3-million CDN). “I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win,” Munro said by telephone when contacted by The Canadian Press in Victoria. She added that she was delighted and “just terribly surprised.” She had been considered a perennial contender for the Nobel prize in literature, with British-based betting company Ladbrokes positioning her as the second-most likely recipient this year behind Japanese master Haruki Murakami.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 11:14:59 +0000
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