Albert Einstein with his violin 'Lina'.

Photo: Public domain

In-depth

Podcast with Leymah Gbowee

Encore of Nobel Prize Conversations

“I see myself as the one who never gives up”

Leymah Gbowee shares her heartbreaking life story of a happy childhood cruelly interrupted by the Liberian civil war. Her never-give-up attitude has been a constant in her life and work, and something she tries to instil in young people, encouraging them ”to believe that they can do whatever they put their mind to”.

Book tips

What to read?

Curious about 2022 literature laureate Annie Ernaux but can’t decide which of her books to start with? Here three members of the Swedish Academy give their recommendations.

Image of Annie Ernaux's books — © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Monica Mileur

Discover more

How to get a job in science

Applying for jobs can be daunting, but there are simple ways for early-career scientists to ensure their applications stand out. Through the , Nobel Laureates…

2018_NPII_Spain (14) — © Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

How to build a scientific career

Early-career scientists face difficult decisions when building their career in research, and indeed about whether a career in research is right for them at all.…

How hard do you need to work?

Hard work has been part of every laureate’s journey towards the Nobel Prize. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi spent time in the lab on the morning of her…

Elizabeth Blackburn NPII — Elizabeth Blackburn speaks at a Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative event

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With failure comes opportunity

Every laureate faces failures and set-backs on their path to the Nobel Prize. It is a topic they are frequently asked about at events, and, given…

2017_NPII_Scandinavia (1) — Shinya Yamanaka addresses the University of Oslo

Photo: Terje Heiestad

With a little help from our (insect) friends

Nobel Laureates speaking at events are united in the belief that they could not have achieved great things alone. They thank their family, friends, mentors,…

2018_NPII_China — Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative in Hefei, China, with Michael W. Young

© Nobel Media

Interview with Aaron Ciechanover

Aaron Ciechanover shares his views about science, democracy, fake news and more.

Aaron Ciechanover NPII lecture — Aaron Ciechanover

© Nobel Media

Featured Nobel Prize laureates in literature

Nobel Prize in Literature 1970

Smuggled literature

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Prize lecture, in which he first coined the term “Gulag Archipelago”, was smuggled out of the USSR on photographic film hidden in the back of a transistor radio. Read a firsthand account of this story from the cold war written by the courier himself. Solzhenitsyn didn’t arrive in Stockholm to receive the prize until four years later, after he had been expelled from the Soviet Union.

Nobel Prize in Literature 1991

“Read, read, read”

When asked about her most valuable words of advice, Nadine Gordimer, answered: “Boringly, I always repeat; read, read, read, and don’t read the book coming in a stream of words on a screen, don’t depend on that, which you now have in your car and on your, god knows, your cell phone and everything. Please, just go to the library and read.”

Nobel Prize in Literature 2017

A mix of Jane Austen and Franz Kafka

“An Ishiguro story is like a mix of Jane Austen and Franz Kafka. This may sound odd. Strictly speaking, it should be impossible. But Ishiguro shows that it works. It works well indeed.”
This is how Kasuo Ishiguro’s literature was described during the 2017 Nobel Prize award ceremony. Get a taster of his writing here.

Portrait of Kazuo Ishiguro. Photo: Jeff Cottenden. — Portrait of Kazuo Ishiguro.

Photo: Jeff Cottenden

Nobel Peace Prize: Q&A

Behind the scenes of the Nobel Peace Prize

How are the Nobel Peace Prize laureates chosen? Asle Toje, Deputy Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, answers some of the most common questions about the nomination and selection process.

Nobel Prize Conversations

The making of a Nobel Prize laureate

What goes into the making of a Nobel Prize laureate? How big a role does luck play in the making of a laureate? Can you find any common experiences and external influences between the laureates? In this special bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, we explore the origin stories of these remarkable individuals.

Benjamin List receiving his Nobel Prize diploma (1) — © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Bernhard Ludewig

Watch the documentary series

Five documentaries inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize

A team of female Yazidi deminers in Iraq attempting to clear their land of mines left behind by ISIS. A team of scientists on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to help better our understanding of climate change. A man building prosthetic legs to help victims of war walk again in South Sudan … All are inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Nobel Prize laureates share their stories

Nobel Prize in Literature 2021

“There are certain moments I think that never, never go away”

2021 literature laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah’s literature often focuses on the journeys and lives of refugees and people whose countries were occupied by colonialists. In this interview he tells us more about his literature and his own journey to the Nobel Prize.

Explore and learn

19 remarkable scientists and their stories

Explore a storytelling experience that celebrates and explores the contributions, careers and lives of 19 women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.

Explore 'Women who changed science'

Learn more

Mahatma Gandhi – The missing laureate

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. It is widely held – in retrospect – that the Indian national leader should have been selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?

Mahatma Gandhi laughing.

Photo: Public domain.

Marie and Pierre Curie and the discovery of polonium and radium

Marie and Pierre Curie’s pioneering research led to not one, but two Nobel Prizes, the first for the couple, the second for Marie.

In-depth

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19 remarkable scientists and their stories

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