On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel’s will one part was dedicated to “the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction”. Learn more about the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1901 to 2024.

Number of Nobel Prizes in Literature

117 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on seven occasions: in 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943.

Why were the literature prizes not awarded in those years? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: “If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds.” During World War I and II, fewer Nobel Prizes were awarded.

Shared Nobel Prizes in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been shared between two laureates* on four occasions only. Sharing the Nobel Prize is a more common phenomenon within the other Nobel Prize categories.

1904, 1917, 1966 and 1974

Frédéric Mistral

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1904 in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist.

José Echegaray y Eizaguirre

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1904 in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama.

Karl Adolph Gjellerup

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1917 for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals.

Henrik Pontoppidan

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1917 for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966 for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people.

Nelly Sachs

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966 for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength.

Eyvind Johnson

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1974 for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom.

Harry Martinson

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1974 for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos.

Number of Nobel Prize laureates in literature

121 individuals have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 1901–2024.

List of all literature laureates

Youngest literature laureate

Oldest literature laureate

Female Nobel Prize laureates in literature

18 women have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was the first woman to be awarded in 1909. Selma Lagerlöf was awarded five years before she was elected to the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Prize awarding institution responsible for selecting Nobel Prize laureates in literature.

List of all female Nobel Prize laureates

Two people have declined the Nobel Prize in Literature

Boris Pasternak, the 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature, “Accepted first, later caused by the authorities of his country (Soviet Union) to decline the Prize”.
Jean Paul Sartre, the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.

Multiple Nobel Prize laureates in literature

No one has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.

Multiple Nobel Prize laureates in other Nobel Prize categories

Posthumous Nobel Prizes in Literature

In 1931, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded posthumously to Erik Axel Karlfeldt. From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Dag Hammarskjöld was also awarded a posthumous prize, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.

Awarded members of the Swedish Academy

One particular problem faced during the nomination and selection process for the Nobel Prize in Literature is how to deal with candidates who are members of the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Prize awarding institution responsible for selecting Nobel Prize laureates in literature. All Swedish Nobel Prize laureates in literature before 2011, when Tomas Tranströmer was awarded, were members of the Swedish Academy. In virtually every case it appears that they have declined nomination and a routine has been established, were they are not subjected to the appraisal of either an expert or the Nobel Committee for Literature.

Read more about the process of nomination and selection of literature laureates

• Selma Lagerlöf became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1914 after she was awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Verner von Heidenstam (1916 Nobel Prize in Literature), was a member of the Swedish Academy 1912–1940.
• Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1931 Nobel Prize in Literature), was a member of the Swedish Academy 1904–1931. Karlfeldt was awarded posthumously.
• Pär Lagerkvist (1951 Nobel Prize in Literature), was a member of the Swedish Academy 1940–1974.
• Harry Martinson and Eyvind Johnson (1974 Nobel Prize in Literature), were members of the Swedish Academy – Martinson 1949–1978 and Johnson 1957–1976.

Literature laureates with pen-names

• Sully Prudhomme (pen-name of René François Armand Prudhomme)
• Anatole France (pen-name of Jacques Anatole Thibault)
• Wladyslaw Reymont (pen-name of Rejment)
• Grazia Deledda (pen-name of Grazia Madesani, née Deledda)
• Pearl Buck (pen-name of Pearl Walsh, née Sydenstricker)
• Gabriela Mistral (pen-name of Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga)
• Saint-John Perse (pen-name of Alexis Léger)
• Giorgos Seferis (pen-name of Giorgos Seferiadis)
• Pablo Neruda (pen-name of Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto)
• Odysseus Elytis (pen-name of Odysseus Alepoudhelis)
• Mo Yan (pen-name of Guan Moye)

Surprise literature laureate?

Many believe that Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but he was actually awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature. Between 1945 and 1953, Winston Churchill got 21 nominations for the literature prize and two for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Explore the nomination database for the Nobel Prizes

Awarded for a particular literary work

While the Nobel Prize in Literature is for a writer’s life work, there are nine literature laureates for whom the Swedish Academy singled out a specific work for particular recognition.

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1965 for the artistic power and integrity with which, in his epic of the Don, he has given expression to a historic phase in the life of the Russian people.

Ernest Miller Hemingway

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1954 for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style.

Roger Martin du Gard

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1937 for the artistic power and truth with which he has depicted human conflict as well as some fundamental aspects of contemporary life in his novel-cycle Les Thibault.

John Galsworthy

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1932 for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga.

Thomas Mann

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1929 principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature.

Władysław Stanisław Reymont

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1924 for his great national epic, The Peasants.

Knut Pedersen Hamsun

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1920 for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil.

Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1919 in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring.

Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1902 the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work, A history of Rome.

Nominations – a well kept secret

The nominations and the opinions written by the members of the Nobel Committee in Literature each year are kept secret for 50 years.

Sully Prudhomme, Rudolf Eucken, Paul Heyse, Rabindranath Tagore, Sinclair Lewis, Theodor Mommsen, Luigi Pirandello, Pearl Buck, Bertrand Russell and William Faulkner are some of the authors who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature after being nominated in one year only.

Number of nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature each year (1901-1950)
Searchable nomination database (1901-1965)

Who did the Nobel Prize laureates in literature nominate?

The Swedish author August Strindberg (1849-1912) was nominated once in 1911 by Nathan Söderblom (but the nomination arrived too late and was retrieved).

The Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was nominated for 12 years for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In 1929, the Nobel Committee for Medicine engaged an expert who came to the conclusion that a further investigation in Freud was not necessary, since Freud’s work was of no proven scientific value. What is less known, perhaps, is that Romain Rolland, Nobel Prize laureate in literature 1915, and an acquaintance of Freud, nominated him for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936.

List of nominations made by Nobel Prize laureates in literature

The Nobel Prize diplomas

Each Nobel Prize diploma is a unique work of art, created by foremost Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers.

More about the Nobel Prize diplomas

The Nobel Prize amount

Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 2,2 billion) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.” The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

The Nobel Prize amount for 2024 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.

More about the Nobel Prize amount

*Why “laureate”?

Why are the individuals and organisations awarded a Nobel Prize called Nobel Prize laureate? The word “laureate” refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the god Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. A laurel wreath is a circular Crown made of branches and leaves of the bay laurel (in Latin: Laurus nobilis). In Ancient Greece, laurel wreaths were awarded to victors as a sign of honour – both in athletic competitions and in poetic meets.

More facts on the Nobel Prizes

• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physics
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize
• Facts on the prize in economic sciences
• Facts on all Nobel Prizes

First published 5 October 2009.