Desarzens has been hailed for the virtuosity and singularity of her style.
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French-Swiss writer and journalist Corinne Desarzens has been awarded the Swiss Literature Grand Prix 2026, the Federal Office of Culture announced on Thursday. Seven other writers were also awarded prizes.
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Desarzens has a degree in Russian and is the author of novels, short stories and travelogues, including Un roi (A King, 2011), L’Italie, c’est toujours bien (Italy is Always Nice, 2018) and Le petit cheval tatar (The Little Tatar Horse, 2025). She’s been hailed for the virtuosity and singularity of her style. The judges highlighted her ability to transform everyday details, anecdotes and knowledge into a digressive flow of writing where each sentence becomes a “crossroads”.
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When a Swiss won a Nobel Prize for literature
For her readers, the novelist offers a unique way of looking at the world, celebrating the unexpected, the blurred and the infinite possibilities of the human gaze. Already the winner of the Prix Suisse de littérature 2021 and the Prix Ramuz 2025, the 73-year-old writer, who is based in canton Vaud, is recognised as one of the great stylists of French-speaking Switzerland.
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