Timeline Nobel Prize in Literature

Nobel Prize in Literature 119

• 1901 Sully Prudhomme wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1901 The French poet Sully Prudhomme, for poetry of high idealism and artistic perfection — the first Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1902 Theodor Mommsen wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1902 Theodor Mommsen, the greatest living master of historical writing, for his History of Rome.
• 1903 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1903 The Norwegian poet, novelist and playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, author of the Norwegian national anthem.
• 1904 Frédéric Mistral and José Echegaray win the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1904 Frédéric Mistral, poet of the Provençal language, and the Spanish dramatist José Echegaray.
• 1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz, for his epic novels, among them Quo Vadis.
• 1906 Giosuè Carducci wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1906 The Italian poet Giosuè Carducci, for the lyrical power and creative energy of his poetry.
• 1907 Rudyard Kipling awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature First English-language writer to win the prize Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature, cited for his powers of observation, imagination, and narrative skill. He was the first writer in the English language to receive the honor and, at 41, remains its youngest literature laureate. The prize was awarded in Stockholm on 10 December 1907.
• 1908 Rudolf Eucken wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1908 The German philosopher Rudolf Eucken, for his idealist philosophy of life.
• 1909 Selma Lagerlöf wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1909 Selma Lagerlöf, author of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils — the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1910 Paul Heyse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1910 The German writer Paul Heyse, for his lyric poetry, drama, novels and short stories.
• 1911 Maurice Maeterlinck wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1911 The Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck, author of The Blue Bird.
• 1912 Gerhart Hauptmann wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1912 The German dramatist Gerhart Hauptmann, for his work in the theatre.
• 1913 Rabindranath Tagore wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1913 Rabindranath Tagore, for the verse of Gitanjali — the first non-European laureate.
• 1915 Romain Rolland wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1915 Romain Rolland, author of Jean-Christophe, for the idealism and humanity of his writing.
• 1916 Verner von Heidenstam wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1916 The Swedish poet Verner von Heidenstam, as the leading figure of a new era in Swedish literature.
• 1917 Gjellerup and Pontoppidan win the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1917 The Danish writers Karl Gjellerup and Henrik Pontoppidan.
• 1919 Carl Spitteler wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1919 The Swiss poet Carl Spitteler, for his epic Olympian Spring. Awarded in 1920 as the 1919 prize.
• 1920 Knut Hamsun wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1920 Knut Hamsun, for his novel Growth of the Soil.
• 1921 Anatole France wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1921 Anatole France, for his literary achievements, noble style and humane sympathy.
• 1922 Jacinto Benavente wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1922 The Spanish dramatist Jacinto Benavente.
• 1923 W. B. Yeats wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1923 The Irish poet William Butler Yeats, for his inspired poetry giving expression to the spirit of a nation.
• 1924 Władysław Reymont wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1924 Władysław Reymont, for his national epic The Peasants.
• 1925 George Bernard Shaw wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1925 The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, for work marked by idealism and humanity. Awarded in 1926 as the 1925 prize.
• 1926 Grazia Deledda wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1926 The Sardinian novelist Grazia Deledda. Awarded in 1927 as the 1926 prize.
• 1927 Henri Bergson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1927 The French philosopher Henri Bergson, for his rich and vital ideas. Awarded in 1928 as the 1927 prize.
• 1928 Sigrid Undset wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1928 Sigrid Undset, for her portrayals of medieval Scandinavian life, above all Kristin Lavransdatter.
• 1929 Thomas Mann wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1929 Thomas Mann, principally for his novel Buddenbrooks.
• 1930 Sinclair Lewis wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1930 Sinclair Lewis, author of Main Street and Babbitt — the first American Nobel laureate in literature.
• 1931 Erik Axel Karlfeldt wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1931 The Swedish poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt — awarded posthumously, months after his death.
• 1932 John Galsworthy wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1932 John Galsworthy, for his storytelling, which reaches its peak in The Forsyte Saga.
• 1933 Ivan Bunin wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1933 Ivan Bunin, a Russian émigré living in France, for the classical Russian tradition of his prose.
• 1934 Luigi Pirandello wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1934 Luigi Pirandello, for his bold and ingenious renewal of drama, including Six Characters in Search of an Author.
• 1936 Eugene O'Neill wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1936 Eugene O'Neill, for the power and emotion of his dramatic works.
• 1937 Roger Martin du Gard wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1937 Roger Martin du Gard, for his novel cycle Les Thibault.
• 1938 Pearl S. Buck awarded Nobel Prize in Literature The first American woman to win the literature prize Pearl S. Buck received the prize for her portrayals of peasant life in China and her biographical works. She was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1939 Frans Eemil Sillanpää wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1939 The Finnish novelist Frans Eemil Sillanpää, for his portrayal of peasant life and nature.
• 1944 Johannes V. Jensen wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1944 The Danish writer Johannes V. Jensen, for the strength of his poetic imagination.
• 1945 Gabriela Mistral wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1945 The Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral — the first Latin American Nobel laureate in literature.
• 1946 Hermann Hesse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1946 Hermann Hesse, author of Steppenwolf, Siddhartha and The Glass Bead Game.
• 1947 André Gide wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1947 André Gide, for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings.
• 1948 T. S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in Literature T.S. Eliot receives the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Order of Merit.
• 1949 William Faulkner wins the Nobel Prize in Literature William Faulkner accepts the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm, declaring that he declines to accept the end of man.
• 1950 Bertrand Russell wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1950 The British philosopher Bertrand Russell, for writings championing humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.
• 1951 Pär Lagerkvist wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1951 The Swedish writer Pär Lagerkvist, author of Barabbas.
• 1952 François Mauriac wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1952 François Mauriac, for the spiritual insight and artistic intensity of his novels.
• 1953 Winston Churchill wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1953 Winston Churchill, for his historical and biographical writing and his oratory.
• 1954 Ernest Hemingway wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, too injured to travel to Stockholm.
• 1955 Halldór Laxness wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1955 The Icelandic novelist Halldór Laxness, for renewing the great narrative art of Iceland.
• 1956 Juan Ramón Jiménez wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1956 The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, author of Platero and I.
• 1957 Albert Camus wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1957 Albert Camus, author of The Stranger and The Plague, for illuminating the problems of the human conscience.
• 1958 Pasternak forced to decline Nobel Prize Soviet pressure follows Doctor Zhivago award Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel "Doctor Zhivago," but Soviet authorities pressured him into declining it under threat of expulsion from the country. His son accepted the prize on his behalf in 1989.
• 1959 Salvatore Quasimodo wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1959 The Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo, for lyrical poetry expressing the tragic experience of life in his time.
• 1960 Saint-John Perse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1960 The French poet and diplomat Saint-John Perse.
• 1961 Ivo Andrić wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1961 Ivo Andrić, author of The Bridge on the Drina.
• 1962 John Steinbeck wins the Nobel Prize in Literature John Steinbeck is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1963 Giorgos Seferis wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1963 The Greek poet Giorgos Seferis.
• 1964 Jean-Paul Sartre declines the Nobel Prize in Literature Refusing institutional honors In October 1964, Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but declined it, stating that a writer should not allow himself to be transformed into an institution and citing his long-standing refusal of official honors. He remains the only person to have voluntarily declined the prize. The decision was consistent with his broader philosophical rejection of fixed, externally conferred identity.
• 1965 Mikhail Sholokhov wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1965 Mikhail Sholokhov, for his epic of the Don Cossacks, And Quiet Flows the Don.
• 1966 Agnon and Nelly Sachs win the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1966 Shmuel Yosef Agnon, for narratives drawn from Jewish life, and the poet Nelly Sachs, for her writing on the fate of the Jewish people.
• 1967 Miguel Ángel Asturias wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1967 The Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias, rooted in the traditions of the Indigenous peoples of Latin America.
• 1968 Yasunari Kawabata wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1968 Yasunari Kawabata, author of Snow Country — the first Japanese literature laureate.
• 1969 Samuel Beckett wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1969 Samuel Beckett, author of Waiting for Godot, for writing that finds new forms for the destitution of modern man.
• 1970 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1970 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. He could not travel to accept it until his exile in 1974.
• 1971 Pablo Neruda wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1971 The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, for poetry that brings alive a continents destiny and dreams.
• 1972 Heinrich Böll wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1972 Heinrich Böll, for writing that renewed German literature after the war.
• 1973 Patrick White wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1973 Patrick White, for introducing a new continent into literature — the first Australian laureate.
• 1974 Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson win the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1974 The Swedish writers Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson. Their selection by fellow Academy members was widely criticised.
• 1975 Eugenio Montale wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1975 The Italian poet Eugenio Montale.
• 1976 Saul Bellow wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1976 Saul Bellow, author of Herzog and Humboldts Gift, for human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture.
• 1977 Vicente Aleixandre wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1977 The Spanish poet Vicente Aleixandre.
• 1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer, for storytelling rooted in Polish-Jewish tradition, written in Yiddish.
• 1979 Odysseas Elytis wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1979 The Greek poet Odysseas Elytis.
• 1980 Czesław Miłosz wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1980 The Polish poet Czesław Miłosz, for voicing mans exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts.
• 1981 Elias Canetti wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1981 Elias Canetti, author of Auto-da-Fé and Crowds and Power.
• 1982 Gabriel García Márquez wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1982 Gabriel García Márquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, for his magical-realist novels and stories.
• 1983 William Golding wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1983 William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies.
• 1984 Jaroslav Seifert wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1984 The Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert.
• 1985 Claude Simon wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1985 The French novelist Claude Simon, of the nouveau roman.
• 1986 Wole Soyinka wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 The Nigerian playwright and poet Wole Soyinka — the first African laureate in literature.
• 1987 Joseph Brodsky wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1987 The Russian-born poet Joseph Brodsky, exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972.
• 1988 Naguib Mahfouz wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1988 Naguib Mahfouz, author of the Cairo Trilogy — the first Arabic-language laureate.
• 1989 Camilo José Cela wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1989 The Spanish novelist Camilo José Cela.
• 1990 Octavio Paz wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1990 The Mexican poet and essayist Octavio Paz.
• 1991 Nadine Gordimer wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1991 Nadine Gordimer, for her writing on life under apartheid.
• 1992 Derek Walcott wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1992 The Saint Lucian poet Derek Walcott, author of Omeros.
• 1993 Toni Morrison wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Toni Morrison becomes the first Black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1994 Kenzaburō Ōe wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1994 The Japanese novelist Kenzaburō Ōe.
• 1995 Seamus Heaney wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1995 The Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
• 1996 Wisława Szymborska wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1996 The Polish poet Wisława Szymborska.
• 1997 Dario Fo wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1997 The Italian playwright and performer Dario Fo.
• 1998 José Saramago wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 1998 José Saramago, author of Blindness — the first Portuguese-language laureate.
• 1999 Günter Grass wins the Nobel Prize in Literature The Swedish Academy awards Grass the Nobel Prize in Literature, citing his "frolicsome black fables that portray the forgotten face of history." The prize is the culmination of four decades at the centre of German literary and political life.
• 2000 Gao Xingjian wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2000 The Chinese-born writer Gao Xingjian, author of Soul Mountain.
• 2001 V. S. Naipaul wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2001 The Trinidad-born writer V. S. Naipaul, author of A House for Mr Biswas.
• 2002 Imre Kertész wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2002 Imre Kertész, author of Fatelessness, for writing on the individual against the barbarity of history.
• 2003 J. M. Coetzee wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2003 J. M. Coetzee, author of Disgrace and Waiting for the Barbarians.
• 2004 Elfriede Jelinek wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2004 The Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek, author of The Piano Teacher.
• 2005 Harold Pinter wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2005 The British playwright Harold Pinter.
• 2006 Orhan Pamuk wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2006 Orhan Pamuk, author of My Name Is Red and Istanbul — the first Turkish laureate.
• 2007 Doris Lessing wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2007 Doris Lessing, author of The Golden Notebook. At 87 she became the oldest literature laureate.
• 2008 J. M. G. Le Clézio wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2008 The French writer J. M. G. Le Clézio.
• 2009 Herta Müller wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2009 The Romanian-born German writer Herta Müller, for her portrayal of the dispossessed.
• 2010 Mario Vargas Llosa wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2010 Mario Vargas Llosa, for his mapping of the structures of power.
• 2011 Tomas Tranströmer wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 The Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.
• 2012 Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 Mo Yan, author of Red Sorghum, for hallucinatory realism merging folk tales, history and the present.
• 2013 Alice Munro wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2013 Alice Munro, master of the contemporary short story.
• 2014 Patrick Modiano wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 Patrick Modiano, for his art of memory evoking life under the Occupation.
• 2015 Svetlana Alexievich wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 Svetlana Alexievich, for her polyphonic oral histories of the Soviet and post-Soviet era.
• 2016 Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize in Literature First musician to win Nobel for Literature Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on October 13, 2016, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" — the first musician to win the prize.
• 2017 Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2017 Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.
• 2018 Olga Tokarczuk wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2018 Olga Tokarczuk, author of Flights. Announced in 2019, after the Swedish Academy postponed the 2018 prize over a scandal.
• 2019 Peter Handke wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 The Austrian writer Peter Handke. His selection was controversial over his support for Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars.
• 2020 Louise Glück wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 The American poet Louise Glück.
• 2021 Abdulrazak Gurnah wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 The Zanzibar-born novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, for his writing on colonialism and the fate of the refugee.
• 2022 Annie Ernaux wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2022 Annie Ernaux, for the courage and precision of her writing on personal memory.
• 2023 Jon Fosse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 The Norwegian playwright and novelist Jon Fosse.
• 2024 Han Kang wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian — the first South Korean literature laureate.
• 2025 László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 The Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai, author of Satantango.
• 2026 Anne Carson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 Anne Carson, for a bold and inventive body of work that reworks classical literature into new forms of contemporary writing. Carson is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator and classicist.