Nobel Prize for Literature goes to French author Annie Ernaux.

"The 2022 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the French author Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory,” reads the tweet from Nobel's official handle.

“We concentrate on literature and literary quality”, not on current affairs, the Swedish academy has said. But it does feel poignant that an author known for her work about abortion has been selected in the year that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in the US.

Ernaux’s UK publisher Fitzcarraldo is “over the moon” that the long-tipped author has been chosen for this year’s award, reports the Guardian.

Mats Malm, the permanent secretary of the Nobel Committee, said that he had not been able to reach Ernaux yet. He “expects her to become aware of the news soon.”

Number of Nobel Prize laureates in literature

114 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on seven occasions: in 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943.

118 individuals have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 1901-2021.

Why were the literature prizes not awarded in those years?

In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: “If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds.” During World War I and II, fewer Nobel Prizes were awarded.

Shared Nobel Prizes in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been shared between two individuals on four occasions only. Sharing the Nobel Prize is a more common phenomenon within the other Nobel Prize categories.

1904 – Frédéric Mistral, José Echegaray1917 – Karl Gjellerup, Henrik Pontoppidan1966 – Shmuel Agnon, Nelly Sachs1974 – Eyvind Johnson, Harry Martinson

Youngest literature laureate

To date, the youngest literature laureate is Rudyard Kipling, best known for The Jungle Book, who was 41 years old when he was awarded the literature prize in 1907.

Oldest literature laureateThe oldest Nobel Prize laureate in literature to date is Doris Lessing, who was 88 years old when she was awarded the Prize in 2007.

Female Nobel Prize laureates in literature

16 women have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was the first woman to be awarded in 1909. Selma Lagerlöf was awarded five years before she was elected to the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Prize awarding institution responsible for selecting Nobel Prize laureates in literature.

1909 – Selma Lagerlöf1926 – Grazia Deledda1928 – Sigrid Undset1938 – Pearl Buck1945 – Gabriela Mistral1966 – Nelly Sachs1991 – Nadine Gordimer1993 – Toni Morrison1996 – Wislawa Szymborska2004 – Elfriede Jelinek2007 – Doris Lessing2009 – Herta Müller2013 – Alice Munro2015 – Svetlana Alexievich2018 – Olga Tokarczuk2020 – Louise Glück

Two people have declined the Nobel Prize in Literature

Boris Pasternak, the 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature, “Accepted first, later caused by the authorities of his country (Soviet Union) to decline the Prize”.Jean Paul Sartre, the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.

Posthumous Nobel Prizes in Literature

In 1931, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded posthumously to Erik Axel Karlfeldt. From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Dag Hammarskjöld was also awarded a posthumous prize, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.