[News Figures] Will This Year's Nobel Literature Prize Go to a Female Writer? Chinese Novelist Chan Xue Mentioned

Who will be the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature? The Swedish Academy will announce the Nobel Literature Prize laureate on the 10th. The Academy keeps all processes, from the candidate list to the announcement of the winner, strictly confidential. Predictions about the Nobel Literature Prize winner vary among expert institutions in each country. The British betting company Nicerod, known for its high accuracy, has rated novelist Chan Xue (real name Deng Xiaohua) as a strong contender. Since 2012, the Academy has alternated between selecting male and female laureates. Given that last year the Norwegian master Jon Fosse received the honor, there is speculation that this year the Nobel Literature Prize may go to a female writer. In 2022, French female writer Annie Ernaux received the Nobel Literature Prize.

The pen name Chan Xue means "dirty snow that does not melt" and "pure snow on a high mountain peak." Born in 1953 in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, he spent his childhood under his grandmother’s care after his parents, who worked at a local newspaper, were labeled right-wing extremists and sent to a labor reform camp in 1957. Having completed elementary school, he self-studied literature and philosophy and began writing. His debut work was the 1985 short story "Soap Bubbles on Dirty Water."

In 1987, he published the novel "Yellow Mud." He then released works such as "Five Fragrances," "The Last Lover," "New Century Love Story," and "Barefoot Doctor," earning acclaim for his surreal style and narrative. Influenced by avant-garde literature figures like Dante, Borges, and Franz Kafka, he combined Chinese shamanistic beliefs to create a unique literary world. His works depict the lives of ordinary people dreamily while also revealing the essential ugliness of human nature. Chan Xue’s works are used as literary materials at Harvard, Cornell University, and other institutions in the United States. He has received awards such as the US Best Translated Book Award and the Malaysia Flower Traverse World Chinese Literature Award. American writer Susan Sontag once praised him, saying, "If a Nobel Literature Prize winner emerges from China, it will be Chan Xue."

Jamaica Kincaid, a writer from Antigua and Barbuda, an independent country in the British Commonwealth in the Caribbean, writes autobiographical works based on her life. Her works explore mother-daughter relationships while addressing identities such as postcolonialism, class, and race. Representative works include "Lucy" and "Annie John."

Australian writer Gerald Murnane is also considered a candidate for the literature prize. He is not well known in Korea, as none of his works have been translated and published in Korean. He writes novels set in Victoria, where he has lived. His major works include "Tamarisk Row," "The Plains," "A Million Windows," "Inland," and "The Boundary Region." Korean writers mentioned as candidates include poet Ko Un, novelist Han Kang, and poet Kim Hyesoon.