The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Canadian writer Anne Carson. The Swedish Academy in Stockholm announced the decision on Thursday, October 8, 2026. According to Ingrid Carlberg, the permanent secretary of the Academy, the prize was awarded to Carson for her "audacious and inventive work, which, through a playful dialogue with classical tradition, has given rise to new forms for contemporary literature." Her work is known for blending poetry, essays, and translations, often drawing from classical texts and mythology. Carson succeeds Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, who received the prize in 2025. She is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, following French author Annie Ernaux, and the second Canadian to do so, after Alice Munro, who won in 2013. Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson is a poet, essayist, translator, and scholar of classical languages and literature. Her writing often blurs the lines between genres, and she has taught at institutions such as the University of Michigan. She previously received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2020. Among her most notable works is Autobiographie du rouge, a poetic novel inspired by the myth of Geryon, published in French in 2020. It combines elements of love, Greek mythology, and poetic form. Another work, Atelier Albertine: a character from Proust, explores the character Albertine from Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, mixing literary criticism, poetry, and irony. She has also rewritten Greek tragedies, such as Antigonick, a version of Sophocles’ Antigone, and Norma Jeane Baker de Troie, which intertwines the story of Helen of Troy with that of Marilyn Monroe. The announcement of the 2026 prize was preceded by speculation, with Canadian poet Anne Carson and Chinese writer Can Xue leading the odds. Ingrid Carlberg recently took over as permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, succeeding Mats Malm. The Academy, founded in 1786, has 18 members who select the Nobel laureate from the work of a committee. The process remains confidential for 50 years. Carson will receive her medal and diploma in Stockholm on December 10, along with a grant of 11 million Swedish crowns, approximately one million euros.