Austrian female author Elfriede Jelinek has been awarded the Nobel prize for literature, the Swedish Academy announced Thursday. The 57-year-old Jelinek, who has written novels and plays, was lauded for "her musical flow of voices and counter-voices" and "extraordinary linguistic zeal," the academy said. It was the first literary prize to an Austrian writer. Jelinek told Swedish radio she was surprised and honoured by the award, but that illness would prevent her from travelling to Stockholm to personally accept the award. The author said she viewed the honour "as a flower in the buttonhole of Austria". This year's Nobel prizes are valued at 10 million kronor (1.35 million dollars).
