Nobel Prize winners by category (literature)

year name country* literary area

1901 Sully Prudhomme France poet

1902 Mommsen, Theodor Germany historian

1903 Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne Martinius Norway novelist, poet, dramatist

1904 Echegaray y Eizaguirre, José Spain dramatist

Mistral, Frédéric France poet

1905 Sienkiewicz, Henryk Poland novelist

1906 Carducci, Giosuè Italy poet

1907 Kipling, Rudyard U.K. poet, novelist

1908 Eucken, Rudolf Christoph Germany philosopher

1909 Lagerlöf, Selma Sweden novelist

1910 Heyse, Paul Johann Ludwig von Germany poet, novelist, dramatist

1911 Maeterlinck, Maurice Belgium dramatist

1912 Hauptmann, Gerhart Germany dramatist

1913 Tagore, Rabindranath India poet

1915 Rolland, Romain France novelist

1916 Heidenstam, Verner von Sweden poet

1917 Gjellerup, Karl (Gjellerup, Karl Adolph) Denmark novelist

Pontoppidan, Henrik Denmark novelist

1918 Karlfeldt, Erik Axel (declined) Sweden poet

1919 Spitteler, Carl Switzerland poet, novelist

1920 Hamsun, Knut Norway novelist

1921 France, Anatole France novelist

1922 Benavente y Martínez, Jacinto Spain dramatist

1923 Yeats, William Butler Ireland poet

1924 Reymont, Wladyslaw Stanislaw (Reymont, Władysław Stanisław) Poland novelist

1925 Shaw, George Bernard Ireland dramatist

1926 Deledda, Grazia Italy novelist

1927 Bergson, Henri France philosopher

1928 Undset, Sigrid Norway novelist

1929 Mann, Thomas Germany novelist

1930 Lewis, Sinclair U.S. novelist

1931 Karlfeldt, Erik Axel (posthumous award) Sweden poet

1932 Galsworthy, John U.K. novelist

1933 Bunin, Ivan Alekseyevich U.S.S.R. poet, novelist

1934 Pirandello, Luigi Italy dramatist

1936 O'Neill, Eugene U.S. dramatist

1937 Martin du Gard, Roger France novelist

1938 Buck, Pearl U.S. novelist

1939 Sillanpää, Frans Eemil Finland novelist

1944 Jensen, Johannes V. Denmark novelist

1945 Mistral, Gabriela Chile poet

1946 Hesse, Hermann Switzerland novelist

1947 Gide, André France novelist, essayist

1948 Eliot, T.S. U.K. poet, critic

1949 Faulkner, William U.S. novelist

1950 Russell, Bertrand U.K. philosopher

1951 Lagerkvist, Pär Sweden novelist

1952 Mauriac, François France poet, novelist, dramatist

1953 Churchill, Sir Winston U.K. historian, orator

1954 Hemingway, Ernest U.S. novelist

1955 Laxness, Halldór Iceland novelist

1956 Jiménez, Juan Ramón Spain poet

1957 Camus, Albert France novelist, dramatist

1958 Pasternak, Boris Leonidovich (declined) U.S.S.R. novelist, poet

1959 Quasimodo, Salvatore Italy poet

1960 Saint-John Perse France poet

1961 Andric, Ivo (Andrić, Ivo) Yugoslavia novelist

1962 Steinbeck, John U.S. novelist

1963 Seferis, George Greece poet

1964 Sartre, Jean-Paul (declined) France philosopher, dramatist

1965 Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich U.S.S.R. novelist

1966 Agnon, S.Y. Israel novelist

Sachs, Nelly Sweden poet

1967 Asturias, Miguel Ángel Guatemala novelist

1968 Kawabata Yasunari Japan novelist

1969 Beckett, Samuel Ireland novelist, dramatist

1970 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich U.S.S.R. novelist

1971 Neruda, Pablo Chile poet

1972 Böll, Heinrich West Germany novelist

1973 White, Patrick Australia novelist

1974 Johnson, Eyvind Sweden novelist

Martinson, Harry Sweden novelist, poet

1975 Montale, Eugenio Italy poet

1976 Bellow, Saul U.S. novelist

1977 Aleixandre, Vicente Spain poet

1978 Singer, Isaac Bashevis U.S. novelist

1979 Elytis, Odysseus Greece poet

1980 Milosz, Czeslaw (Miłosz, Czesław) U.S. poet

1981 Canetti, Elias Bulgaria novelist, essayist

1982 García Márquez, Gabriel Colombia novelist, journalist, social critic

1983 Golding, Sir William U.K. novelist

1984 Seifert, Jaroslav Czech. poet

1985 Simon, Claude France novelist

1986 Soyinka, Wole Nigeria dramatist, poet

1987 Brodsky, Joseph U.S. poet, essayist

1988 Mahfouz, Naguib Egypt novelist

1989 Cela, Camilo José Spain novelist

1990 Paz, Octavio Mexico poet, essayist

1991 Gordimer, Nadine South Africa novelist

1992 Walcott, Derek St. Lucia poet

1993 Morrison, Toni U.S. novelist

1994 Oe Kenzaburo (Ōe Kenzaburō) Japan novelist

1995 Heaney, Seamus Ireland poet

1996 Szymborska, Wislawa (Szymborska, Wisława) Poland poet

1997 Fo, Dario Italy dramatist, actor

1998 Saramago, José Portugal novelist

1999 Grass, Günter Germany novelist

2000 Gao Xingjian France novelist, dramatist

2001 Naipaul, Sir V.S. Trinidad novelist

2002 Kertész, Imre Hungary novelist

2003 Coetzee, J.M. South Africa novelist

2004 Jelinek, Elfriede Austria novelist, playwright

2005 Pinter, Harold U.K. playwright

2006 Pamuk, Orhan Turkey novelist

2007 Lessing, Doris U.K. novelist

2008 Le Clézio, Jean-Marie Gustave France novelist, essayist

*Nationality given is the citizenship of recipient at the time award was made. Prizes may be withheld or not awarded in years when no worthy recipient can be found or when the world situation (e.g., World Wars I and II) prevents the gathering of information needed to reach a decision.