World-renowned author Péter Nádas died on Wednesday morning in his home in Gombosszeg, in southwest Hungary, the author’s official Facebook page said.
Nádas was born in Budapest in 1942. He worked as a photographer and journalist at several outlets in the late 1950s and the ’60s. His first book, The Bible, was published in 1967. He published novels, dramas, essays continuously afterwards while continuing to work in journalism and the theatre. His seminal work, A book of memories, was published in 1986 in Hungarian and in 1997 in English. It was lauded as one of the outstanding achievements of post-war Hungarian writing, and one that had mapped out new ways of literary expression. His last book, Halott barataim (My dead friends), was published in 2025, MTI wrote.
Throughout his career, Nádas was awarded the Kossuth and Jozsef Attila Prizes, the Szechenyi Prize, the Middle Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Nádas has lived and worked in the remote village of Gombosszeg in southwest Hungary since 1984. The family has asked the public to respect their privacy until further communication.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar commented on Nadas’s passing on Facebook, saying: “Kossuth prize holder, world-renowned author Péter Nádas passed away this morning. Farewell, Maestro!”
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Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Facebook: “This country, this city has a lot to thank to Péter Nádas. We will now forever regret not to be able to repay that debt.” Nádas, an honorary citizen of Budapest, “has shown to the wide world where this city is in Europe,” he added.
“Péter Nádas represents simultaneously the highest levels of world literature and the most beautiful, delicate, heart-warming Hungarian literature,” Karácsony said.
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