'We could not be more delighted and proud that Harold Pinter has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. It is not possible to overstate Pinter's importance as a writer. His plays have revolutionised the theatre and his visionary political writings, both prose and poetry, have exposed injustice around the world. Pinter created a language entirely of his own which has now become our language. To mark this extraordinary achievement with this most prestigious of prizes is a fitting tribute and testament to Harold's importance not just as a writer in the English language but across all nations.' - Stephen Page, Publisher, Faber. www.haroldpinter.org

Harold Pinter was born in London in 1930. He lived with Antonia Fraser from 1975 and they married in 1980. In 1995 he won the David Cohen British Literature Prize, awarded for a lifetime's achievement in literature. In 1996 he was given the Laurence Olivier Award for a lifetime's achievement in theatre. In 2002 he was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature. In 2005 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and, in the same year, the Wilfred Owen Award for Poetry and the Franz Kafka Award (Prague). In 2006 he was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize and, in 2007, the highest French honour, the Legion d'honneur. He died in December 2008.