Paysages forecast for the Nobel Prize in Literature 2026

This annually published blog post (since 2009) presents the "Paysages" forecast for the Nobel Prize in Literature 2026. After the deaths of long-standing favourites António Lobo Antunes and Marjane Satrapi, the author lists plausible candidates — including Mia Couto, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Anne Carson — while identifying no clear favourite this year. The recurring question is raised of whether "Weltliteratur" (world literature) exists, how it may be defined, and to what extent the Nobel Prize reflects it. Two recent novels, Iryna Fingerova's Zugwind (2026) and Nelio Biedermann's Lázár (2025), are cited as examples of contemporary world literature by young authors not yet eligible for the prize. In a postscript, the author notes that Anne Carson — one of the listed plausible candidates — was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2026.