Nobel Prize in Literature facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nobel Prize in Literature
Presented by	Swedish Academy
Location	Stockholm, Sweden
Reward	11 million SEK (2023)
First awarded	1901
Last awarded	2024
Currently held by	Han Kang (2024)
< 2023 2024 2025 >

The Nobel Prize in Literature is a special award given each year in Sweden. It started in 1901. This prize goes to an author from any country. The author must have created "the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction" in literature. This idea came from the will of a Swedish inventor named Alfred Nobel.

Even though some books might be mentioned, the prize is usually for an author's entire collection of work. The Swedish Academy decides who wins this important award. They announce the winner in early October. The Literature Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by Alfred Nobel. It's usually the last prize given out at the Nobel ceremony. Sometimes, the award has been delayed until the next year, like in 2018.

What is the Nobel Prize in Literature?

In 1901, French poet and essayist Sully Prudhomme was the first person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was recognized for his poetry, which showed "lofty idealism, artistic perfection, and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect."

A telegram from Ernest Hemingway in 1954. The Nobel Academy has changed how it refers to the prize over the years, but "in Literature" is now the usual way.

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish inventor and businessman. In his last will, he said that his money should be used to create prizes. These prizes would honor people who brought the "greatest benefit to mankind." The prizes were for achievements in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.

Nobel wrote his last will about a year before he passed away in 1895. He left a lot of his money to start these five Nobel Prizes. Because his will was unusual, it took some time for it to be approved. Finally, in 1897, the Norwegian Parliament approved it. Two people, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, were in charge of his will. They created the Nobel Foundation to manage Nobel's money and organize the prizes.

After the will was approved, the groups that would give out the prizes were chosen. The Swedish Academy was chosen to decide the Literature Prize. This was stated in the Nobel Foundation's rules, which were approved in 1900.

How are Winners Chosen?

Each year, the Swedish Academy asks people to suggest candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature. People who can nominate include members of the Academy, literature professors, and past Nobel winners. Authors cannot nominate themselves.

In the early years (1901-1950), about 20 to 35 nominations were received each year. Today, thousands of requests are sent out. As of 2011, about 220 suggestions were sent back. These suggestions must arrive by February 1st.

A special group within the Academy, called the Nobel Committee in Literature, reviews the nominations. By April, they narrow the list down to about 20 candidates. By May, they have a shorter list of five names. For the next four months, the Academy members read and study the works of these five authors.

In October, the Academy members vote. The author who gets more than half of the votes becomes the Nobel laureate in Literature. An author usually needs to be on the shortlist at least twice to win. This means many authors are considered multiple times over the years. If an author writes in a language that no Academy member knows well, they get help from translators.

The Swedish Academy has 18 members. They are usually elected for life. In 2018, the rules changed, allowing members to resign. Members who are inactive for more than two years can also be asked to resign. The Nobel Committee members are chosen from the Academy for three years. They also get help from expert advisers.

The winner is usually announced in October. Sometimes, the prize is announced the following year. For example, the 2018 award was announced in 2019. In some years, like 1949, no one got enough votes. So, the prize was delayed and announced the next year.

What Do Winners Receive?

A Nobel Literature winner gets a gold medal, a special diploma, and money. The amount of money changes depending on how much the Nobel Foundation earns that year. The literature prize can be shared by two people, but not three. If two people share it, the money is split equally.

The prize money has changed over time. As of 2012, it was 8 million Swedish Krona (about 1.1 million US dollars). In 2023, it was 11 million Swedish Krona.

Winners are also invited to give a lecture during "Nobel Week" in Stockholm. The main event is the prize ceremony and dinner on December 10th. This prize is considered one of the richest literary awards in the world.

The Medals

The Nobel Literature medal has a picture of Alfred Nobel on the front. It was designed by Erik Lindberg. The back of the medal shows a young man sitting under a laurel tree. He is listening to and writing down the song of a Muse (a goddess of inspiration).

The medal has a Latin phrase: "Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes." This means "It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts." This phrase comes from an ancient Roman poem called the Aeneid by Virgil. The winner's name is engraved on a plate below the figures. The words "ACAD. SUEC." are also on the back, meaning the Swedish Academy.

These medals have been made by different mints (places where coins are made) in Sweden over the years.

The Diplomas

Nobel winners receive their diploma directly from the King of Sweden. Each diploma is unique. It is specially designed for the winner by the prize-awarding group. The diploma includes a picture and text. It states the winner's name and usually explains why they received the prize.

Who Has Won?

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been given out 116 times between 1901 and 2023. It has been awarded to 120 different people: 103 men and 17 women. The prize has been shared by two people four times. It was not awarded at all seven times. Winners have written in 25 different languages.

The youngest winner was Rudyard Kipling, who was 41 in 1907. The oldest winner was Doris Lessing, who was 88 in 2007. It has been awarded after someone's death only once, to Erik Axel Karlfeldt in 1931.

Sometimes, members of the Swedish Academy have won the prize themselves. This happened with Verner von Heidenstam (1916), Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1931), Pär Lagerkvist (1951), and the shared prize to Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson (1974). Selma Lagerlöf became an Academy member five years after winning the prize in 1909.

Three writers have turned down the prize: Erik Axel Karlfeldt in 1919, Boris Pasternak in 1958 (he accepted at first but was made to decline by his country's government), and Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964.

Shared Prizes

The Nobel Prize in Literature can be shared by two people. However, the Academy doesn't often share the prize. They worry that sharing might look like a compromise. The shared prizes in 1904 (to Frederic Mistral and José Echegaray) and 1917 (to Karl Gjellerup and Henrik Pontoppidan) were indeed compromises. The Academy also feels that a shared prize might seem like only "half" an award.

Shared prizes are rare. More recently, the Academy has only shared the prize twice: with Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Nelly Sachs in 1966, and with Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson in 1974.

Recognizing Specific Works

The Nobel Prize in Literature is usually given for an author's entire body of work. But sometimes, the Academy has mentioned a specific book or work that stood out. For example, Knut Hamsun won in 1920 for his "monumental work, Growth of the Soil." Ernest Hemingway won in 1954 "for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea." These examples show that while the whole career is important, a particular book can sometimes be highlighted.

Who Might Be Nominated?

Nominations for the Nobel Prize are kept secret for 50 years. After that, they are made public in a special database. Right now, you can only see nominations from 1901 to 1973.

What about the rumors circling around the world about certain people being nominated for the Nobel Prize this year? – Well, either it's just a rumor, or someone among the invited nominators has leaked information. Since the nominations are kept secret for 50 years, you'll have to wait until then to find out.

Most candidates are considered by the Nobel committee for many years. But sometimes, an author wins after being nominated only once. This happened with Sully Prudhomme (the first winner in 1901) and others like Rabindranath Tagore (1913) and Bertrand Russell (1950).

Past Nobel winners can also nominate candidates. Sometimes, their suggestions have gone on to win the prize. For example, Thomas Mann (a 1929 winner) nominated Hermann Hesse, who later won in 1946.

Other Important Literary Prizes

The Nobel Prize in Literature is not the only international literary award. There are other notable prizes that authors from any country can win. These include the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Jerusalem Prize, and the International Booker Prize.

The International Booker Prize is becoming very important. It is seen as a strong alternative to the Nobel. Since 2016, it honors a book of fiction translated into English each year. Some authors have won both the International Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize, like Alice Munro and Olga Tokarczuk.

The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is also very respected. It's sometimes called the American version of the Nobel Prize. Like the Nobel, it's given for an author's entire body of work, not just one book. It often gives a hint about who might win the Nobel Prize. For example, Gabriel García Márquez won the Neustadt in 1972 and the Nobel in 1982.

Another important award is the Spanish Princess of Asturias Award in Letters. This prize used to mostly go to Spanish-language writers. But now, writers in other languages also win it. Authors like Doris Lessing and Mario Vargas Llosa have won both the Asturias Award and the Nobel Prize.

There are also prizes that honor writers' lifetime achievements in specific languages. Examples include the Miguel de Cervantes Prize for Spanish and the Camões Prize for Portuguese. Some Nobel winners have also received these language-specific awards.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is sometimes called "the Little Nobel." This is because, like the Nobel, it recognizes a writer's lifetime work. However, the Andersen Award focuses only on children's literature.

See also

In Spanish: Premio Nobel de Literatura para niños