Louise Glück wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Glück was recognised for the “austere beauty” of her work, said the Swedish Academy, which oversees the prestigious award.

The prize is given to the person who has “produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction”.

Last year’s choice of Austrian novelist Peter Handke led to wide criticism.

Handke was a known supporter of the Serbs during the 1990s Yugoslav war and spoke at the funeral of former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic, who was accused of genocide and other war crimes.

Amongst the critics were PEN America who said it was “dumbfounded by the selection of a writer who has used his public voice to undercut historical truth”, in a statement from its president, Jennifer Egan.

A 58,000-strong petition called for the award to be revoked but the Academy defended its choice as one based solely on literary merit. The awards ceremony in December was boycotted in protest by the the ambassadors of countries including Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo.

Last year also saw Polish author Olga Tokarczuk belatedly announced as the winner of the 2018 literature prize which had been suspended for a year after a sexual assault scandal and financial misconduct allegations rocked the Academy.

It resulted in the conviction of Jean-Claude Arnault, husband of Academy member Katarina Frostenson, for rape in 2018. The following January, Frostenson left the Academy after she was found to be the source of leaks of previous winners.

The Academy was revamped, and its Nobel committee was required by the Nobel Foundation that manages the prizes to take in five external experts to help vet candidates for the literature prize deliberations in 2019 and 2020.