60 Fun Facts About Nobel Prize in Literature

In which month does the Swedish Academy normally announce the literature laureate?

Literature is traditionally the last of the prizes presented at the December ceremony.

Alfred Nobel's will says the literature prize should go to work 'in an ___ direction'.

The Swedish word idealisk has been reinterpreted repeatedly, from 'lofty idealism' to championing human rights.

Alfred Nobel signed his final will in Paris in which year?

He left 94 per cent of his assets, 31 million kronor, to fund the five prizes.

Who was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901?

The French poet won on his first nomination; Tolstoy never won at all.

Who is the youngest ever literature laureate, aged 41 in 1907?

He was also the first English-language recipient.

Who is the oldest literature laureate, aged 88 when awarded in 2007?

Author of The Golden Notebook, she was told the news by reporters on her doorstep.

Who was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1909?

The Swedish author of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils joined the Swedish Academy itself in 1914.

Who became the first non-European Nobel laureate in any category, winning the literature prize in 1913?

His poetry collection Gitanjali was praised as 'profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful'.

Who was the first author from the United States to win the literature prize, in 1930?

The author of Main Street and Babbitt was also the first winner from the Americas.

Who was the first American woman to win the literature prize, in 1938?

She was honoured for her 'rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China'.

Which laureate was awarded the prize posthumously, in 1931, after refusing it in 1919?

He had declined because he was permanent secretary of the very academy that awards it.

Which Soviet author was forced by his government to decline the 1958 prize?

Doctor Zhivago had been smuggled to Italy and published there in 1957.

Which French philosopher refused the 1964 prize so as not to 'become an institution'?

He said he always declined official honours.

Which British prime minister won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953?

His multi-volume histories and speeches earned the honour.

Which philosopher and mathematician won the 1950 literature prize on his first nomination?

He was cited for writings championing 'humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought'.

Which singer-songwriter won the 2016 prize 'for having created new poetic expressions' in American song?

His Nobel lecture appeared on the prize website in June 2017 and drew accusations of borrowing from SparkNotes.

Who in 1986 became the first African writer to win the literature prize?

The Nigerian playwright was praised for his 'wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones'.

Which Egyptian novelist, author of The Cairo Trilogy, won in 1988?

His trilogy follows three generations of Cairo families from World War I to the 1952 coup.

Who in 1993 became the first African-American laureate in literature?

She had won the Pulitzer for Beloved in 1988.

Who in 2000 became the first laureate writing in Chinese?

The émigré novelist and painter later became a French citizen.

What does the pen name of 2012 laureate Mo Yan mean in Chinese?

He adopted it in 1981 as a PLA soldier and later made it his legal name for convenience at the post office.

Who was the first Japanese author to win the literature prize, in 1968?

His spare, lyrical prose includes Snow Country and Thousand Cranes.

Which Belarusian journalist won the 2015 prize for her 'polyphonic writings'?

She writes in Russian, assembling oral histories of Soviet and post-Soviet life.

Which Canadian short-story writer won in 2013?

She was hailed as a master of the contemporary short story.

Which Italian playwright and actor won the 1997 prize?

The Academy praised him for emulating the jesters of the Middle Ages.

Which Colombian author of One Hundred Years of Solitude won in 1982?

Known as Gabo, he had already won the Neustadt Prize a decade earlier.

Which Nagasaki-born British novelist won in 2017?

He moved to Britain at five and won the Booker for The Remains of the Day.

Why was the 2018 prize not announced until 2019?

The delayed award was finally announced together with the 2019 prize.

Which Polish writer received the delayed 2018 prize?

She was cited for 'a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries'.

The 2019 award to which Austrian writer drew protests over his support for Serbian nationalism?

Austrian authorities even investigated whether he had obtained a Yugoslav passport in the 1990s.

Which American poet won the 2020 prize for her 'unmistakable poetic voice'?

The judges praised the 'austere beauty' that makes individual existence universal.

Which Zanzibar-born novelist won in 2021 for work on colonialism and refugees?

He came to Britain as a refugee during the Zanzibar Revolution in the 1960s.

Which French writer won the 2022 Nobel for uncovering "the roots... of personal memory"?

Her autobiographical works include The Years and A Man's Place.

Which Norwegian playwright, who writes in Nynorsk, won in 2023?

He was cited for plays and prose 'which give voice to the unsayable'.

Who in 2024 became the first Asian woman to win the literature prize?

Her novel The Vegetarian had won the International Booker in 2016.

Which Hungarian novelist, author of Satantango, won the 2025 prize?

He is the second Hungarian laureate, after Kertész; Béla Tarr filmed several of his novels.

Which laureate was, at 44, the second-youngest winner and the first born in Africa?

He dedicated his acceptance speech to his old schoolteacher, Louis Germain.

Ernest Hemingway's 1954 citation singled out which recent work?

He was praised for his mastery of narrative and his influence on contemporary style.

Thomas Mann's 1929 prize was awarded 'principally' for which novel?

The Academy called it one of the classic works of contemporary literature.

How many members sit on the Swedish Academy?

They are elected for life and, until 2018, were not technically allowed to resign.

Between how many people can the literature prize be shared at most?

The Academy dislikes shared prizes, since they look like compromises; the last was in 1974.

Which pair shared the 1974 prize, both members of the Swedish Academy itself?

The choice of two of its own drew lasting criticism.

How many years are Nobel literature nominations kept secret?

As of 2025 only nominations from 1901 to 1973 are open to the public.

What is the deadline by which nominations must reach the Academy each year?

The field is narrowed to about 20 by April and to a shortlist of five by May.

How many times must an author appear on the shortlist before they can win?

That is why the same names come round year after year.

Which Spanish philologist holds the record for most nominations in a single year, 92 in 1956?

He was still being nominated at 99 in 1968, and never won.

Which Latin poet's Aeneid supplies the inscription on the reverse of the literature medal?

The line, adapted from Book 6, praises those who improved life through discovered arts.

What does the reverse of the literature medal depict?

The obverse carries Nobel's portrait, and the reverse is inscribed ACAD. SUEC. for the Swedish Academy.

Which Swedish figure said in 2009 that 'the US is too isolated, too insular'?

His successor Peter Englund disagreed and admitted the prize's Eurocentric bent was 'a problem'.

Which of these giants never won the Nobel Prize in Literature despite living into the prize era?

Ibsen, Zola, Twain, Chekhov, Proust, Joyce, Borges and Nabokov are all in the same 'non-winners' club.

Which nation has received more literature prizes (8) than all of Asia combined?

Latin America, even counting Derek Walcott, also trails it with seven.

On what date each year is the Nobel prize-giving ceremony and banquet held?

Literature is traditionally the last award presented.

Which Turkish novelist won the 2006 prize?

His inclusion is what lets Asia claim seven laureates.

Which Chilean poet-diplomat won the 1971 prize?

He was born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto.

Which Irish writer won the 1969 prize for work 'in new forms for the novel and drama'?

The citation spoke of 'the destitution of modern man' acquiring its elevation.

Which Russian won the 1970 prize 'for the ethical force' of his pursuit of Russian literary tradition?

The award came a year that critics cite as politically charged.

Knut Hamsun's 1920 prize singled out which 'monumental work'?

The Academy usually rewards a life's work, but occasionally names one book, as it did for Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga in 1932.

Which pair shared the 1966 prize, one of only two shared awards since 1917?

The Academy dislikes splitting the prize because a division looks like a compromise; the 1904 and 1917 shares were exactly that.

Which Swedish playwright's 1911 nomination was withdrawn because it 'arrived too late'?

Nathan Söderblom submitted it; unlike other late nominations it was not rolled over to the following year.

Who designed the literature medal, with its left-profile portrait of Alfred Nobel?

The letters 'ACAD. SUEC.' on the reverse stand for the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.