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　　Herta Muller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature．Ms．Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987．She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Gunter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901．She is the 12th woman to gain the literature prize．But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V．S．Naipaul, Ms．Muller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany．

　　“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,”Ms．Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany．“I can't say anything more at the moment．”

　　She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels“The Land of Green Plums”and“The Appointment．”

　　At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms．Muller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措)by all the cameras in her face．

　　When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Boll, Ms．Muller remained philosophical(达观的)．“I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse,”she said, adding：“My inner thing is writing．That's what I can hold on to．”

　　Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms．Muller was honored for her“very, very distinct special language”and because“she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family．