A look back as French feminist writer wins Nobel literature prize

Annie Ernaux

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to French author Annie Ernaux, “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory” in her work, according to the citation.

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious, lucrative, reputable and possibly the most coveted among international awards for outstanding achievements conferred annually in a cross section of fields. These include the Nobel Peace Prize, which has marked some of the most impactful achievements of change in the political world. Past winners have included Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), head of the Soviet Union, whose “glasnost” and “perestroika” tore down the iron curtain and made possible the end of the Cold War.