The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Carson as the recipient of the prestigious award on Thursday in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Academy’s Secretary-General, Ingrid Carlberg, said Carson was recognised for her distinctive body of work and innovative approach to contemporary literature.
“Ms Carson was honoured for her bold and inventive oeuvre that in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature,” Carlberg said.
According to Carlberg, she spoke with Carson, who is currently in Iceland, shortly after the announcement. She said the author was “listening to the wind” when she received the news and was “very taken by surprise.”
The 76-year-old author studied at the University of Toronto and has taught comparative literature and creative writing at universities in Canada and the United States.
Carson has published more than 20 books and is known for her work as a poet, essayist and classicist. Her writing often draws on classical literature and explores themes including love, desire and despair through contemporary forms.
She succeeds Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature.
