Munro, who is dubbed 'master of the contemporary short story,' says, 'I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win,' when contacted by media.
- October 11, 2013
AceShowbiz -
Canadian author Alice Munro won 2013 Nobel Price in literature, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences announced on Thursday, October 10. Munro, who is dubbed the "master of the contemporary short story" and often compared to Anton Chekhov, is the 13th woman who received the literature prize.
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper congratulated the author for the win. "On behalf of all Canadians, congratulations to Alice Munro for her Nobel Prize in Literature. #canlit," he said in a Twitter post.
Speaking to The Canadian Press via a phone call, Munro said that the prize was "quite wonderful" and she was "terribly surprised." She added, "I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win."
Doug Gibson, Munro's publisher, delivered Munro's statement to CTV. He was quoted as saying, "I am amazed and very grateful. I am particularly glad that winning this award will please so many Canadians. I'm happy that this will bring more attention to Canadian writing."
Munro was born Alice Anne Laidlaw in Wingham in 1931. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a fox farmer. Munro loved writing stories when she was a teenager and continued her education at the University of Western Ontario. She did not finish her school and got married to fellow student James Munro. She later split from her husband and married Gerald Fremlin, a geographer.
Munro's first short story collection "Dance of the Happy Shades" was published in 1968 and won the Governor's prize. Other popular works include "Who Do You Think You Are?" (1978), "The Moons of Jupiter" (1982), "Runaway" (2004), "The View from Castle Rock" (2006) and "Too Much Happiness" (2009). Munro's most recent short story collection was "Dear Life", which was released in 2012.
