The 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature this year went to a woman named Svetlana Alexievich — one of fourteen to ever win the annual award in more than one hundred years. Alexievich is a journalist and prose writer who blends genres to tell stories about some of the darkest times in human history. The Nobel Prize website stated that Alexievich was chosen “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”

Alexievich is currently a resident of Belarus, was born in Ukraine, and calls herself “The Chronicler of the Utopian Land.” Her books include The War’s Unwomanly Face, Last Witness, Zinky Boys, and The Chernobyl Prayer. Her work has made her an international award winner, and her books have been published in nineteen countries.