Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize, but does she know it?

Canadian-born writer Alice Munro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for being the "master of the contemporary short story."

But shortly before Munro was announced as the 27th literature laureate, the Swedish Academy took to Twitter to say it couldn't reach her.

"The Swedish Academy has not been able to get a hold of Alice Munro," the academy tweeted, "left a phone message. #NobelPrize #Literature."

The 82-year-old, who lives near her childhood home in southwestern Ontario, Canada, apparently didn't answer when the academy called. Munro is the 13th woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature since the awards were introduced in 1901.

Assuming she checks her voice mail, Munro will be happy to learn that the award comes with a check for about $1.25 million.

The press-averse writer rarely gives interviews but recently spoke about the evolution of the short story.

"While working on my first five books, I kept wishing I was writing a novel," Munro told the New York Times in July. "I thought until you wrote a novel, you weren't taken seriously as a writer. It used to trouble me a lot, but nothing troubles me now, and besides there has been a change. I think short stories are taken more seriously now than they were."

Update, 12:30 p.m. ET: They were able to reach her!