Kazuo Ishiguro has won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature

Fans of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami celebrate after they heard that Japanese-born Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature while they gather in a shrine with the hope of celebrating Murakami's winning in the prize in Tokyo, Japan, October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon - RC1FAD98AA70

Japanese-born Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, a prize that has been awarded since 1901. Image: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Reuters Staff

Stockholm (Reuters) - Japanese-born Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for uncovering "the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world," the Swedish Academy said on Thursday on awarding the 9 million crown ($1.1 million) prize.

The award marks a return to a more mainstream interpretation of literature after the 2016 prize went to American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.

The prize is named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature and peace in accordance with his will.

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