Who is Elfriede Jelinek?
The Austrian-born winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature is the object of international curiosity after being one of the few women to have received the honor. Unfortunately, the prize seems to be causing the author of The Piano Teacher (which was filmed in 2001 starring Isabel Huppert)more stress than joy. The 58-year-old Jelinek, who lives in Vienna with her mother, refuses to attend the awards ceremony in Sweden, due to a "social phobia." Read the Nobel Committee's analysis of Jelinek's work.

It doesn’t suit me as a person to be put on public display. I feel threatened by it. I’m not in a mental shape to withstand such ceremonies.