For his novels which carry great emotional force, Nagasaki-born British writer, hs been announced as the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Ishiguro, who graduated from the University of Kent with a bachelor’s degree in English and Philosophy in 1973 beat the likes of Kenya’s Ngugi Wa ThIongo’o, Margaret Artwood, and Haruki Murakami to win the prestigious award which comes with a $1,110,000 bounty.

Ishiguro who authored books like ‘The Remains Of The Day’ and ‘Never Let Me Go’ was praised by the Swedish Academy for Novels for his literary works which “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world”.

Despite being among those tipped to land the coveted prize whose previous winners include Seamus Heaney, Toni Morrison, Pablo Neruda and Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, Ishiguro said he was completely unprepared for the announcement.

“It was completely not something I expected, otherwise I would have washed my hair this morning. It was absolute chaos. My agent phoned to say it sounded like they just announced me as the Nobel winner, but there’s so much fake news about these days it’s hard to know who or what to believe so I didn’t really believe it until journalists started calling and lining up outside my door,” Ishiguro told journalists with a smile.

“This is a very weird time in the world, we’ve sort of lost faith in our political system, we’ve lost faith in our leaders, we’re not quite sure of our values, and I just hope that my winning the Nobel Prize contributes something that engenders good will and peace,” he added.

If he had nipped the award, Ngugi Wa Thiongo’o, the 79-year-old Kenyan would have been one of the most celebrated African literary icons to do so.

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, alongside the prize money gets a citation and an 18-carat gold medal that bears the face of the founder, Alfred Nobel at an award ceremony to be held on December 20.