THE FRENCH AUTHOR Annie Ernaux has received the Nobel Prize In Literature 2022.

The announcement was made at 12pm by the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel prizes.

Ernaux was awarded “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”. 

The 82-year-old began her career in 1974 with the autobiographical novel Les Armoires Vides, and went on to pen acclaimed memoirs as well as further novels which mined from her real life. Her unrestrained ability to explore the depth of her own life marks her work out as special, particularly in how it looks at the experiences of women.

Her historical memoir Les Années (The Years) is one of the standouts of her career, written in the third person and combining the story of French society with Ernaux’s life. Other works include Passion Simple (Simple Passion), and La Place (A Man’s Place).

Her most recent book, Getting Lost, is about an 18-month affair she had with a Russian diplomat, told through her diaries from the time.

Her novel L’Evenement (The Happening), was released last year as a film and is based on her Ernaux’s experience of abortion as a young woman.