Most prestigious literature prize goes to Canadian known for genre-crossing works such as Autobiography of Red

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The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to the Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson, the Swedish Academy has announced.

The academy cited the author’s “bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature”.

The Canadian poet and Chinese experimental writer are the bookmakers’ favourites to win, with Haruki Murakami, Gerald Murnane and Margaret Atwood also in the mix

Canadian poet Anne Carson and Chinese experimental writer Can Xue are the bookies’ favourites to win this year’s Nobel prize in literature, set to be announced Thursday.

The frontrunners both have 10/1 odds of taking home the world’s most prestigious literary prize, this year worth 12m Swedish Krona (approximately £900,000), according to Ladbrokes.