The Nobel Prize in Literature
Svetlana Alexievich's dictaphone that was used to record the interviews that her documentary novels are based on.
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
About the prize
“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- – -/ one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction …” (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel)
Alfred Nobel had broad cultural interests. During his early youth, he developed his literary interests which lasted throughout his life. His library consisted of a rich and broad selection of literature in different languages. During the last years of his life, he tried his hand as an author and began writing fiction. Literature was the fourth prize area Nobel mentioned in his will.
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded bythe Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.
See all literature laureates or learn about thenomination process.
Quick facts
- Literature prizes: 118
- Literature laureates: 122
- Awarded women: 18
- Youngest laureate: 41
- Oldest laureate: 87
Nobel Prize in Literature 2025
László Krasznahorkai
Nobel Prize in Literature 2025for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.
Book tips
Discover the works of László Krasznahorkai
Curious about 2025 literature laureate László Krasznahorkai but unsure which of his books to pick up first? Here members of the Swedish Academy give their recommendations.
Books by László Krasznahorkai.
Photo: Samuel Unéus.
Have you read?
Book tips
Want to know more about works by the literature laureates? The experts behind the Nobel Prize in Literature let you in on their reading recommendations.
Explore prizes and laureates
Literature prize Q&A
Can I be nominated? What criteria do you use? Is there an age limit?
Ellen Mattson, who helps to decide the Nobel Prize in Literature, answers your questions about the literature prize.
Writer Ellen Mattson
Photographer: Rickard L Eriksson
Book excerpts
Here you can find excerpts from many of the literature laureates’ literary works such asOlga Tokarczuk‘s bookFlights,Gabriel García Márquez‘s novelOne Hundred Years of Solitude andWisława Szymborska‘s poemThe Three Oddest Words.Discover all excerpts here.
© Nobel Media. Photo: A. Mahmoud
Who wrote what?
Can you match the right book title with the right Nobel Prize awarded author? Have a try!
Questions and answers
Hundreds or thousands of nominations are received every year from members of academies, university professors, scientists, previous Nobel Prize laureates, members of parliamentary assemblies and more.
Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about nominations in the FAQ.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's LP record was a gift to Stig Fredriksson, who had helped smuggle his Nobel Lecture out of the Soviet Union.
© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Articles in literature
Connect with us
Featured laureates
Han Kang
Nobel Prize in Literature 2024for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.
Gabriel García Márquez
Nobel Prize in Literature 1982for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent’s life and conflicts.
Tomas Tranströmer
Nobel Prize in Literature 2011because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Nobel Prize in Literature 2017who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.
Herta Müller
Nobel Prize in Literature 2009who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.
Gabriela Mistral
Nobel Prize in Literature 1945for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world.
Spotlight on literature prize-awarded poets
Literature laureates including Bob Dylan have penned powerful poems that distil important issues, such as women’s rights and colonialism, into visionary verse, as well as using rousing rhymes in lyrics to promote equality and peace.
Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Vocalists Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.
U.S. Information Agency. Press and Publications Service.
Discover more
Doris Lessing talks about her early days as a writer – working on her first bookThe Grass is Singing – and more.
Doris Lessing at her home in London, 14 April 2008.
© Nobel Media.
Sula is the hugely influential second novel from one of the most powerful literary forces of our time.
Toni Morrison speaking at 'A Tribute to Chinua Achebe – 50 Years Anniversary of ‘Things Fall Apart.'
Photo: Angela Radulescu
Listen to this interview with Svetlana Alexievich following the announcement of the 2015 prize.
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Rabindranath Tagore influenced both Indian nationalism and global humanist philosophy.
Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi 1940.
Wikimedia Commons.
Sign up for the monthly newsletter
Join thousands of global subscribers enjoying the free monthly Nobel Prize highlights, trivia and up-to-date information.