Norwegian author Jon Fosse has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2023

64-year-old Norwegian author Jon Fosse has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable."

The author's works include the Septology series of novels, Aliss at the Fire, Melancholy and A Shining.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature, speaks highly of the winner: "His huge oeuvre, spanning a variety of genres, comprises about 40 plays and a wealth of novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,"

Olsson continues, "Fosse blends a rootedness in the language and nature of his Norwegian background with artistic techniques in the wake of modernism."

In a statement, the author admits, "I am overwhelmed and somewhat frightened. I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations."

He told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that he was not entirely surprised by the win. "I’ve been part of the discussion for ten years and have more and less tentatively prepared myself that this could happen."

Jacques Testard, the publisher of Fosse's fiction, praised Fosse, saying, "He's an incredible mind, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer person" upon hearing the news.

The prize will be awarded to Fosse during a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10. He will receive 11m SEK, up from 10m SEK awarded last year.