The Swedish Academy awarded the Canadian poet and translator the literature prize for work that mixes classical sources with new forms. She was in Iceland when she was told.
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. The Swedish Academy cited her for a bold and inventive body of work that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature. Reuters reported the announcement from Stockholm.
Carson, 76, was born in Toronto and also holds Icelandic citizenship. Permanent secretary Ingrid Carlberg said she reached Carson by phone shortly before the public announcement and that Carson was in Iceland, listening to the wind. Asked by Icelandic broadcaster RUV how she felt, Carson said she thought they were all crazy and that she would get a sticker on the front of her book. Her agent, Nicole Aragi, told the New York Times that Carson’s reaction was “Yikes.”
The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, about 1.2 million dollars, Reuters and the BBC reported. Carson is known for work that moves between verse, prose, dialogue and translation, including Autobiography of Red and Nox. The New York Times said she is the third Canadian-born writer to receive the literature prize, after Alice Munro and Saul Bellow.
Literature was the fourth Nobel announced this week. The peace prize is still to come. Bookmakers had listed Carson and the Chinese writer Can Xue among the favorites before the announcement, the New York Times reported.
Carson had not issued a longer statement by the time of the Reuters and BBC reports. The Academy’s citation is the official basis of the award.
People Sentiments Positive
- Carson told RUV she thought they were all crazy and that she would get a sticker on the front of her book.
- Her agent said Carson’s reaction was “Yikes.”
- Carlberg said Carson was in Iceland listening to the wind when she was called.