The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, who lived and worked in the then still divided capital in 1987/88 at the invitation of the Berlin Artists Programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This is the seventh time that an alumnus or alumna of the Artists Programme has been honoured with the highest literary award.

The Swedish Academy honoured Krasznahorkai "for his captivating and visionary work, which affirms the power of art in the midst of apocalyptic horrors". The 71-year-old is considered one of the most important contemporary Hungarian authors. He gained international renown with works such as Satanstango, Melancholy of Resistance and Seiobo on Earth. In 2015, he received the International Booker Prize, and in 2021, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. 

"We are delighted that László Krasznahorkai, another former guest of the DAAD's Berlin Artists-in-Residence Programme, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature," said DAAD President Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee. "His work is characterised by linguistic power, intellectual depth and an unshakeable belief in the power of art. The fact that Krasznahorkai spent a year in Berlin underlines the international significance of the Artists' Programme as a place of free artistic exchange." 

"His residency in 1987/88 marked the beginning of a lasting connection to Berlin. Krasznahorkai lived, wrote and taught here as a Samuel Fischer Visiting Professor at the Free University of Berlin. We are very happy for him!" adds Silvia Fehrmann, Director of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme.

László Krasznahorkai was born in Gyula, Hungary, in 1954. He studied law, then Hungarian literature and philosophy, before devoting himself entirely to writing. His work combines apocalyptic visions with existential questions of human existence – often in long, rhythmically intricate sentences that have earned him the reputation of a "master of the apocalypse" (Susan Sontag).

The Nobel Prize award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on 10 December 2025, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The prize is currently endowed with approximately one million euros.

DAAD Artists-in-Residence Programme in Berlin (BKP)

The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme is one of the most internationally renowned scholarship programmes for artists and, at the same time, a vibrant centre for the production of art. Since 1963, more than 1,200 foreign artists from the fields of fine arts, film, literature and music have lived and worked in Berlin at the invitation of the BKP.

 

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