The Swedish Academy gave the award to French memoirist Annie Ernaux. An icon of autobiographical fiction, the author of "The Years" joins the ranks of other prestigious figures in the literary scene.
The Swedish Academy with 18 members makes the final decision after a smaller group, the Nobel Committee for Literature, sends recommendations from among the nominations. Theoretically, anyone can be nominated, said Ellen Mattson, member of both.
The novelist and translator was believed to be the most likely to win a Nobel Prize for Literature in Spain. His 16 novels were translated into 46 languages.
The Nobel Prize winner talks with DW about his decision to leave Zanzibar, to write in English, and about the rise of African writers in the post-colonial era.