Canadian Poet Anne Carson Wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature

Canadian poet and author Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the latest recipient of one of the world’s most prestigious literary honours.

The Royal Swedish Academy announced Carson as the laureate on Thursday, praising her innovative body of work and its engagement with classical traditions. The Academy said her writing has created new forms for contemporary literature through a playful dialogue with the classics.

Academy Secretary-General Ingrid Carlberg said Carson was “very taken by surprise” when she received the news. Carlberg said she spoke with the author by phone and found her in Iceland, where Carson told her she was “listening to the wind.”

Carson, 76, was born in Toronto and has taught classics and comparative literature at universities in Canada and the United States. She is known for work that crosses traditional literary boundaries, combining poetry, prose, translation, dialogue and other forms.

Her more than 20 books include Autobiography of Red, a genre-bending work inspired partly by classical Greek mythology. She has also written The Albertine Workout, Float and Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, among other works.

The Swedish Academy highlighted Carson’s long engagement with Classical Greek literature, noting that her translations often become creative works in their own right. Her writing frequently explores themes including love, desire, loss and despair while reworking ideas from antiquity for contemporary readers.

Carson’s award follows Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature. She now joins a long list of celebrated writers recognised by the Swedish Academy for outstanding contributions to literature.

The 2026 Literature prize is the fourth Nobel award to be announced this week, following the prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry. The Nobel Peace Prize is due to be announced in Oslo on Friday.