2025 Nobel Prize in Literature

Last updated
Nobel prize medal.svg 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize.png
"in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction".
Date
  • October 2025
    (announcement)
  • 10 December 2025
    (ceremony)
Location Stockholm, Sweden
Presented by Swedish Academy
First award1901
Currently held byto be announced
Website 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
←  2024  · Nobel Prize in Literature ·  2026  →

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature is an international literary prize established according to Alfred Nobel's will [1] that will be announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, in October 2025 and awarded on 10 December 2025. [2]

Contents

Nominations

Every year, beginning in November of last year, thousands of letters across the world are sent to the Swedish Academy, endorsing well celebrated and little-known authors for the Nobel Prize.

Such nominations can only be done by qualified nominators, namely members of the Swedish Academy and of other academies, institutions and societies which are similar to it in construction and purpose; professors of literature and of linguistics at universities and colleges; previous Nobel Prize laureates in Literature; and chairpersons of writers' organizations qualifying as representative of their countries' production of literature and belles lettres. [3] Among the fundamental rules in making nominations include not making them public – but some still do as previous years – nor nominating oneself which automatically disqualifies the nominee during deliberations. [4] [5]

Despite the secrecy, many notable writers around the globe are perennially expected to be among the official nominees and favored to win the prestigious literary prize.

Among last year's favorite authors to win the prize, according to The Guardian and Literary Hub , include Can Xue, Haruki Murakami, Ludmila Ulitskaya, Ersi Sotiropoulos, Salman Rushdie, Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, László Krasznahorkai, César Aira, Gerald Murnane, Anne Carson and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. [6] [7]

The following list features authors considered multiple times for the prize along with the current number of their books the Nobel Library possess. [8] [9] [10] [11] The amount of copies helps determine the Swedish Academy's interest on a particular author. [12]

AuthorBirth
Year		CountryNumbers
of Books		Genre(s)
Peter Ackroyd 1949Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom22novel, biography, essays, poetry
Naja Marie Aidt 1963Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands33poetry, short story, novel, drama
César Aira 1949Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina36novel, short story, essays, translation
Ibrahim al-Koni 1948Flag of Libya.svg Libya31novel, essays, history
Isabel Allende 1942Flag of Chile.svg Chile35novel, short story, memoirs
José Eduardo Agualusa 1960Flag of Angola.svg Angola21novel, short story, essays
Homero Aridjis 1940Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico70poetry, novel, drama, short story, essays
Margaret Atwood 1939Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada129novel, short story, poetry, essays, literary criticism
Bernardo Atxaga 1951Flag of Spain.svg Spain23novel, short story, poetry
John Banville 1945Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland23novel, short story, drama, screenplay, essays
Alessandro Baricco 1958Flag of Italy.svg Italy25novel, drama, short story, essays
Julian Barnes 1946Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom33novel, short story, essays
Bei Dao 1949Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China45poetry, short story, essays, memoirs
Tahar Ben Jelloun 1944Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco66novel, short story, poetry, essays
Stefano Benni 1947Flag of Italy.svg Italy26novel, short story, poetry, drama, essays
Aase Berg 1967Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden24poet, literary critic
Wolf Biermann 1936Flag of Germany.svg Germany23poetry, songwriting
Ana Blandiana 1942Flag of Romania.svg Romania25novel, poetry, essays, drama, translation
Can Xue 1953Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China24novel, short story, literary criticism
Emmanuel Carrère 1957Flag of France.svg France20novel, essays, biography, screenplay
Anne Carson 1950Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada49poetry, essays
Mircea Cărtărescu 1958Flag of Romania.svg Romania41novel, poetry, short story, literary criticism, essays
Patrick Chamoiseau 1953Flag-of-Martinique.svg Martinique30novel, essays, autobiography, screenplay
Hélène Cixous 1937Flag of France.svg France91essays, literary criticism, philosophy, drama, poetry
Mia Couto 1955Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique61novel, short story, essays
Rachel Cusk 1967Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom24novel, essays, drama
Lydia Davis 1947Flag of the United States.svg United States23short story, novel, essays
Don DeLillo 1936Flag of the United States.svg United States59novel, short story, drama, screenplay, essays
Anita Desai 1937Flag of India.svg India25novel, short story
Ananda Devi 1957Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius26novel, short story, poetry
Jean Echenoz 1947Flag of France.svg France25novel, short story, essays
Inger Edelfeldt 1956Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden33novel, short story, translation
Carl-Göran Ekerwald 1923Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden38novel, short story, essays, literary criticism
Kerstin Ekman 1933Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden71novel, essays, screenplay
Anna Enquist 1945Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands23novel, poetry
Viktor Yerofeyev 1947Flag of Russia.svg Russia23novel, essays
Jenny Erpenbeck 1967Flag of Germany.svg Germany22novel, short story, drama, essays
Franck Étienne 1939Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti25novel, poetry, drama, essays
Knut Faldbakken 1941Flag of Norway.svg Norway21novel, short story, essays
Nuruddin Farah 1945Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia25novel, short story, drama
Jean-Pierre Faye 1925Flag of France.svg France22philosophy, essays, novel, poetry
Dominique Fernandez 1929Flag of France.svg France21novel, essays
Elena Ferrante 1943Flag of Italy.svg Italy25novel, essays
Aris Fioretos 1960Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden47novel, essays, translation
Magnus Florin1955Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden32novel, drama, essays
Kjartan Fløgstad 1944Flag of Norway.svg Norway48novel, short story, poetry, essays
Richard Ford 1944Flag of the United States.svg United States22novel, short story, screenplay
Tua Forsström 1947Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden37poetry, drama, essays
Niels Frank1963Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark22poetry, essays
Katarina Frostenson 1953Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden99poetry, biography, essays, drama, translation
Athol Fugard 1932Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa21drama, novel, memoirs
Robin Fulton 1937Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom32poetry, essays, translation
Eric Fylkeson1950Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden24poetry, essays
Jonas Gardell 1963Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden24novel, drama, screenplay
Jörgen Gassilewski1961Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden22poetry, essays
Sylvie Germain 1954Flag of France.svg France23novel, short story, essays
Amitav Ghosh 1956Flag of India.svg India27novel, essays
Pere Gimferrer 1945Flag of Spain.svg Spain55poetry, novel, essays, translation, literary criticism
David Grossman 1954Flag of Israel.svg Israel35novel, essays
Vigdís Grímsdóttir 1953Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland21poetry, short story, drama
Durs Grünbein 1962Flag of Germany.svg Germany73poetry, essays, novel
Einar Már Guðmundsson 1954Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland47novel, short story, poetry, essays
Lennart Hagerfors1946Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden24novel, essays
Gunnar Harding 1940Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden81poetry, novel, essays, translation
Dick Harrison 1966Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden34history, essays, novel
Paal-Helge Haugen 1945Flag of Norway.svg Norway27novel, poetry, drama
Christoph Hein 1944Flag of Germany.svg Germany28novel, drama, essays
Christina Hesselholdt 1962Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark23novel, short story, essays
Michel Houellebecq 1957Flag of France.svg France49novel, poetry, essays
Siri Hustvedt 1955Flag of the United States.svg United States22novel, essays, translation
Roy Jacobsen 1954Flag of Norway.svg Norway37novel, short story, autobiography
Drago Jančar 1948Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia25novel, short story, drama, essays
Ann Jäderlund 1955Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden32poetry, drama
Carsten Jensen 1952Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands21novel, essays, literary criticism
Per Christian Jersild 1935Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden42novel, essays
Lídia Jorge 1946Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal33novel, short story, essays, poetry
Theodor Kallifatides 1938Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden43novel, poetry, essays, translation
Einar Kárason 1955Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland20novel, poetry, essays
Daniel Kehlmann 1975Flag of Germany.svg Germany22novel, drama
Vénus Khoury-Ghata 1937Flag of France.svg France53novel, poetry, short story
Eeva Kilpi 1928Flag of Finland.svg Finland24novel, short story, poetry, essays
Jamaica Kincaid 1949Flag of the United States.svg United States26novel, essays, short story
Esther Kinsky 1956Flag of Germany.svg Germany20novel, poetry, translation
Erling Kittelsen 1946Flag of Norway.svg Norway20poetry, novel, short story, drama, translation
Jan Kjærstad 1953Flag of Norway.svg Norway31novel, short story, essays
Ivan Klíma 1931Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechia49novel, drama, memoirs
Bengt af Klintberg 1938Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden34short story, essays
Alexander Kluge 1932Flag of Germany.svg Germany28essays, philosophy, drama
Karl Ove Knausgård 1968Flag of Norway.svg Norway52novel, autobiography, essays
Ko Un 1933Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea37poetry, essays
Pavel Kohout 1928Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechia24novel, drama, poetry, autobiography
Urszula Kozioł 1931Flag of Poland.svg Poland26poetry, novel, short story, drama
Hanna Krall 1935Flag of Poland.svg Poland70novel, essays
László Krasznahorkai 1954Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary40novel, short story, translation
Julia Kristeva 1941Flag of France.svg France38novel, essays, philosophy
Ryszard Krynicki 1943Flag of Poland.svg Poland20poetry, translation
Stig Larsson 1955Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden39novel, short story, drama, poetry, essays, screenplay
Peter Laugesen 1942Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark38poetry, drama
Kristoffer Leandoer1962Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden49poetry, short story, novel, essays
Mara Lee1972Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden23poetry, novel, translation
Sven-Eric Liedman 1939Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden26essays, philosophy, history
Rosa Liksom 1958Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden24novel, short story
Birgitta Lillpers1958Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden21novel, poetry
Ewa Lipska 1945Flag of Poland.svg Poland43poetry, essays
Lotta Lotass 1964Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden44novel, short story, drama, essays
António Lobo Antunes 1942Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal98novel, short story, essays
Ulf Lundell 1949Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden25songwriting, novel, poetry
Marie Lundquist 1950Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden39poetry, essays, translation
Alain Mabanckou 1966Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg Republic of Congo31novel, poetry, essays
Svend Åge Madsen 1939Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark32novel, short story, drama
Claudio Magris 1939Flag of Italy.svg Italy107essays, translation, novel, short story
Andreï Makine 1957Flag of France.svg France27novel
David Malouf 1934Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia25novel, short story, poetry, essays, drama
Norman Manea 1936Flag of Romania.svg Romania23novel, essays
Dacia Maraini 1936Flag of Italy.svg Italy27novel, short story, essays, drama
Merete Mazzarella 1945Flag of Finland.svg Finland38essays, novel, autobiography, literary criticism
Ian McEwan 1948Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom38novel, short story, screenplay, drama
Gabriela Melinescu1942Flag of Romania.svg Romania34poetry, essays, translation
Eduardo Mendoza Garriga 1943Flag of Spain.svg Spain27novel, short story, drama, essays
Rosa Montero 1951Flag of Spain.svg Spain20novel, short story
Quim Monzó 1952Flag of Spain.svg Spain24novel, short story, essays
Terézia Mora 1971Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary20novel, poetry, screenplays
Paul Muldoon 1951Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland40poetry, essays, literary criticism
Antonio Muñoz Molina 1956Flag of Spain.svg Spain48novel, short story, essays
Haruki Murakami 1949Flag of Japan.svg Japan47novel, short story, essays
Gerald Murnane 1939Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia26novel, short story, essays, poetry, memoirs
Adolf Muschg 1934Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland26novel, poetry, essays
Péter Nádas 1942Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary69novel, drama, essays
Marie NDiaye 1967Flag of France.svg France28novel, short story, essays, drama, screenplay
Carlos Nejar 1939Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil24poetry, novel, essays, translation
Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson1965Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden23poetry, essays
Cees Nooteboom 1933Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands76novel, short story, poetry, essays
Svante Nordin 1946Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden36essays, philosophy
Amélie Nothomb 1966Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium35novel, short story
Fredrik Nyberg 1968Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden20poetry, essays
Joyce Carol Oates 1938Flag of the United States.svg United States179novel, drama, poetry, short story, essays, literary criticism
Yōko Ogawa 1962Flag of Japan.svg Japan31novel, short story
Ben Okri 1959Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria30novel, short story, poetry, essays
Tommy Olofsson1960Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden25poetry, essays
Michael Ondaatje 1943Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada30novel, poetry, essays
Cynthia Ozick 1928Flag of the United States.svg United States26novel, short story, essays
Vasilis Papageorgiou 1955Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden22novel, drama, poetry, essays
Victor Pelevin 1962Flag of Russia.svg Russia46novel, short story, essays
Malte Persson 1976Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden26poetry, essays, translation
Lyudmila Petrushevskaya 1938Flag of Russia.svg Russia46novel, short story, drama, poetry, essays
Agneta Pleijel 1940Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden57novel, poetry, drama, essays, literary criticism
Álvaro Pombo 1939Flag of Spain.svg Spain23novel, short story, poetry
Thomas Pynchon 1937Flag of the United States.svg United States20novel, short story, essays
Yann Queffélec 1949Flag of France.svg France20novel, essays
Pascal Quignard 1948Flag of France.svg France50novel, short story, essays
Björn Ranelid 1949Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden35novel, short story, biography, essays
Renzo Ricchi1936Flag of Italy.svg Italy22drama, poetry, short story, essays
Carme Riera 1948Flag of Spain.svg Spain30novel, short story, essays, screenplay
Marilynne Robinson 1943Flag of the United States.svg United States21novel, essays
Jacques Roubaud 1932Flag of France.svg France32poetry, novel, essays
Dina Rubina 1953Flag of Israel.svg Israel20novel, short story, essays
Luiz Ruffato 1961Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil20novel, short story, poetry, essays
Salman Rushdie 1947Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom60novel, short story, essays, autobiography
Ali Ahmad Said 1930Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg Syria77poetry, essays, translation
Olga Sedakova 1949Flag of Russia.svg Russia33poetry, essays, translation
Steve Sem-Sandberg 1958Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden41novel, essays
Sigurjón "Sjón" Sigurðsson 1962Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland38novel, poetry, drama, screenplay
Ali Smith 1962Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom26novel, short story, drama, essays
Zadie Smith 1975Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom22novel, short story, essays, drama
Vladimir Sorokin 1955Flag of Russia.svg Russia41novel, short story, drama, screenplay, essays
Peter Stamm 1963Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland25drama, novel, essays
Andrzej Stasiuk 1960Flag of Poland.svg Poland46novel, short story, essays
Jón Kalman Stefánsson 1963Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland20novel, poetry
Botho Strauss 1944Flag of Germany.svg Germany64drama, novel, essays
Su Tong 1963Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China22novel, short story, essays
Graham Swift 1949Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom23novel, short story
Pia Tafdrup 1952Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark55poetry, essays
Yoko Tawada 1960Flag of Japan.svg Japan41novel, short story, poetry
Paul Theroux 1941Flag of the United States.svg United States26novel, short story, essays
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1938Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya54novel, drama, short story, essays
Søren Ulrik Thomsen 1956Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark20poetry, essays
Kirsten Thorup 1942Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark24novel, short story
Pär Thörn1977Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden21poetry, essays
Thomas Tidholm 1943Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden20poetry, drama, short story, translation
Enrico Tiozzo1945Flag of Italy.svg Italy50essays, literary criticism
Jean-Philippe Toussaint 1957Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium22novel, screenplay
Colm Tóibín 1955Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland47novel, short story, essays
Viktoriya Tokareva 1937Flag of Russia.svg Russia25novel, short story, screenplay
Tatyana Tolstaya 1951Flag of Russia.svg Russia31novel, short story, essays
Michel Tremblay 1942Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada29novel, short story, drama, screenplay
Antti Tuuri 1944Flag of Finland.svg Finland21novel, translation, screenplay
Anne Tyler 1941Flag of the United States.svg United States21novel, short story, literary criticism
Lyudmila Ulitskaya 1943Flag of Russia.svg Russia67novel, short story, drama
Zoé Valdés 1959Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba21novel, poetry, screenplay
René Vázquez Díaz 1952Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba29novel, poetry, drama
Tomas Venclova 1937Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania31poetry, essays, philology
Enrique Vila-Matas 1948Flag of Spain.svg Spain60novel, short story, essays
Ivan Vladislavic 1957Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa26novel, short story, essays
Jan Erik Vold 1939Flag of Norway.svg Norway60poetry, essays, novel, drama
Kjell Westö 1961Flag of Finland.svg Finland24novel, short story, poetry, essays
Magnus William-Olsson1960Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden54poetry, essays, translation
Dorrit Willumsen 1940Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark20novel, short story, poetry
Jeanette Winterson 1959Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom45novel, short story, memoirs
Per Wästberg 1933Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden257novel, poetry, biography, essays, literary criticism
Yan Lianke 1958Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China41novel, short story
Yang Lian 1955Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China41poetry, essays
Yu Hua 1960Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China38novel, short story, essays
Serhiy Zhadan 1974Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine22poetry, short story, essays

Nobel Committee

The 2025 Nobel Committee consists of the following members: [13]

Committee Members
Seat No.PictureNameElectedPositionProfession
4 Anders Olsson at Goteborg Book Fair 2018 (cropped2).jpg Anders Olsson
(b. 1949)		2008committee chairliterary critic, literary historian
11 Mats Malm on the Nobel Prize in Literature 2022 (cropped).jpg Mats Malm
(b. 1964)		2018associate member
permanent secretary		translator, literary historian, editor
9 Ellen Mattson 2019 (cropped).jpg Ellen Mattson
(b. 1963)		2019membernovelist, essayist
14 Steve Sem-Sandberg in Oct, 2014 (cropped).jpg Steve Sem-Sandberg
(b. 1958)		2021memberjournalist, author, translator
13 Anne Sward (cropped2).jpg Anne Swärd
(b. 1969)		2019membernovelist
16 Anna-Karin Palm (cropped).jpg Anna-Karin Palm
(b. 1961)		2023associate membernovelist, culture writer

References

  1. ↑ "Alfred Nobel will". Nobel Foundation. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Prize announcement dates". nobelprize.org.
  3. ↑ "How are the Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature decided?". svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Rules for Nominations". svenskaakademien.se. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Behind the scenes of the Nobel Prize in Literature". nobelprize.org. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Ella Creamer (8 October 2024). "Chinese author Can Xue is favourite to win 2024 Nobel prize in literature". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Emily Temple (8 October 2024). "Here are the bookies' odds for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature". Literary Hub.
  8. ↑ "Crowd-pleaser or obscure pick for literature Nobel?". France 24 . 6 October 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  9. ↑ Alex Marshall (6 October 2021). "Who Will Win the Nobel Prize in Literature?". New York Times . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "10 People Who Deserve a Nobel Prize". The Best Schools. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Shrimansi Kaushik (3 October 2022). "Authors Who Should Win Nobel Prize For Literature". india.com. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  12. ↑ The list as of December 2024 shows only those with 15 and above. "Svenska Akademiens Nobelbibliotek". lib.nobelbibliotek.se.
  13. ↑ The Nobel Committee 2025 – Nobel Prize in Literature svenskaakademien.se
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