The 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Austrian writer Peter Handke for "an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience." The award received intense criticism due to Handke's perceived support for Serbian nationalism in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars (for instance, Handke spoke at Slobodan Milošević's funeral and has been accused of denying the Srebrenica massacre). Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Turkey boycotted the award ceremony in protest, and multiple public figures called for Handke's award to be rescinded.