--- title: Patrick Modiano Wins Nobel Prize for Literature: Why It's Cursed description: Why some authors have had mixed feelings about the honor canonical: https://time.com/3484572/patrick-modiano-nobel-curse/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-09T14:36:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:41:07.297Z article:section: History og:title: Patrick Modiano Wins Nobel Prize for Literature: Why It's Cursed og:description: Why some authors have had mixed feelings about the honor og:url: https://time.com/3484572/patrick-modiano-nobel-curse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03876ce2d4d37e9e/69875f5f55a859826da83175/france-nobel-literatu_raym.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: France Nobel Literature og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Patrick Modiano Wins Nobel Prize for Literature: Why It's Cursed twitter:description: Why some authors have had mixed feelings about the honor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03876ce2d4d37e9e/69875f5f55a859826da83175/france-nobel-literatu_raym.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Patrick Modiano, Beware: The Curse of the Literature Nobel Prize  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 9, 2014 2:36 PM UTC  French novelist Patrick Modiano poses for a photograph. Patrick Modiano of France has won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature. French novelist Patrick Modiano poses for a photograph. Patrick Modiano of France has won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature.AP—AP/Gallimard  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 9, 2014 2:36 PM UTC Patrick Modiano is probably feeling pretty good right now. It was [announced](http://time.com/3484324/patrick-modiano-nobel-prize/) Thursday morning that the French author had beat out [bet-makers’ favorites](http://time.com/3481586/murakami-adonis-nobel-prize-literature-odds-ladbrokes/) like Haruki Murakami to become the latest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. But that warm, fuzzy feeling may not last. As TIME [reported](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,987689,00.html) back in 1998, the Nobel for literature has a mixed reputation — one that some would go so far as to call a curse. Even for those writers who receive the prize while still at the height of their careers, the burst of worldwide fame that it brings can actually contribute to a decrease in artistic output. As TIME explained: --- > “” --- But as for Modiano, he may have an edge when it comes to avoiding the curse. The BBC [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29553516) that the author has lots of practice staying away from the press and others who want a piece of his time and privacy — in fact, he’s so good at it that the Nobel Academy was unable to get the good news to him before the rest of the world found out too. 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