Literary award · Sweden · since 1901

Nobel Prize in Literature

One of five prizes established by Alfred Nobel. Established 1901 in Sweden.

About Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning for Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words of Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions, the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018.

From the Wikipedia article “Nobel Prize in Literature”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2025László Krasznahorkai—
2024Han Kang—
2023Jon Fosse—
2022Annie Ernaux—
2021Abdulrazak Gurnah—
2020Louise Glück—
2019Peter Handke—
2018Olga Tokarczuk—
2017Kazuo Ishiguro—
2016Bob Dylan—
2015Svetlana Alexievich—
2014Patrick Modiano—
2013Alice Munro—
2012Mo Yan—
2011Tomas Tranströmer—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Nobel Prize in Literature for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data