Murakami favorite for Nobel Literature Prize

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

British sports betting company Ladbrokes has picked Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami as the Nobel favorite.

As literary critics and fans speculate about who will win this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, British sports betting company Ladbrokes has picked Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami as the early favorite, CBC Books has reported.

The prolific writer, whose acclaimed works include “Norwegian Wood,” “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” and, most recently, “IQ84,” has been given seven-to-one odds of winning the prestigious award, as of Monday morning. He had 10-to-one odds last week.

Chinese author Mo Yan and Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom were deemed the next most-likely winners, both with 12-to-one odds, according to Ladbrokes.

But just because the odds are in Murakami’s favor doesn’t mean he’s a shoe-in for the honor. Last year’s winner, Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, was the company’s second-favorite to claim the prize, after Syria’s Adonis, at 14-to-one odds.

Some notable Canadian writers appear on the betting chart as well. Alice Munro is given the best odds of the lot, at 20-to-1, followed by Margaret Atwood (50-to-1), and Michael Ondaatje and Anne Carson (each with 100-to-1 odds).