Nobel Prize a 'complete surprise'
2003-10-02 21:39
Chicago - JM Coetzee, the South African writer who was named winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for literature on Thursday, said that the award had come as a "complete surprise."
"I received the news in a phone call from Stockhholm at 06:00 this morning," Coetzee said in a statement posted on the website of the University of Chicago, where he is teaching this semester.
"It came as a complete surprise. I was not even aware that the announcement was pending," Coetzee said.
"I am particularly happy that the announcement has come during this autumn quarter, which is the time of year that I spend at the University of Chicago," he added.
- AFP