VIENNA, Oct 7: Nobel literature laureate Elfriede Jelinek said on Thursday that she would not be able to travel to Stockholm to receive her prize because she suffers from what she called a "social phobia."

The Austrian writer said in a telephone interview from her home in Vienna that she had been suffering "for a long time" from a "social phobia, an illness known to doctors and which is the reason why I cannot go to Stockholm to receive the prize".

"I feel empty," she noted. But she said she was able to write. She said that for years she had been unable to "tolerate being in large groups" although "I can go into small rooms". -AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....
Soft on traders
08 Jun, 2026

Soft on traders

THE Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme for traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs200m has been designed as a ‘pragmatic...
Ceasefire in name
Updated 08 Jun, 2026

Ceasefire in name

Both sides accuse the other of violating the truce that was supposed to halt the conflict in April, yet neither appears willing to abandon negotiations altogether.
Damaged childhoods
08 Jun, 2026

Damaged childhoods

CHILD abuse is so prevalent that the UN ranked Pakistan as the least safe country for children. Even so, more than...