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Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize in literature

Chinese writer Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a somewhat unexpected choice by a prize committee that has favored European authors in recent years. The Swedish Academy, which selects the winners of the prestigious award, praised Mo's "hallucinatoric realism," saying it "merges folk tales, history and the contemporary." Peter Englund, the academy's permanent secretary, said th

Image: CHINA-NOBEL-LITERATURE-PRIZE-SWEDEN-MO YAN

This picture taken on March 25, 2012, shows Chinese writer Mo Yan, the 2012 Nobel Literature Prize winner, attending a novel competition in Haikou, in south China's Hainan province. The Swedish Academy announced on October 11, 2012 that Chinese author Mo Yan won the Nobel Literature Prize \"with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary\" . CHINA OUT AFP PHOTOSTR/AFP/GettyImages

Oct. 11, 2012, 11:16 AM UTC / Source: The Associated Press

Chinese writer Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a somewhat unexpected choice by a prize committee that has favored European authors in recent years.

The Swedish Academy, which selects the winners of the prestigious award, praised Mo's "hallucinatoric realism," saying it "merges folk tales, history and the contemporary."

Peter Englund, the academy's permanent secretary, said the academy had contacted Mo before the announcement.

"He said he was overjoyed and scared," Englund said.