Nobel Prize for Literature: Now live: Who will receive the Nobel Prize for Literature?

With the Foundation of the Nobel Prizes, the Swedish researcher and industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) wanted to resolve a conflict that determined his life: the inventor of dynamite could not get over the fact that his discovery was used for war.

The committed pacifist Nobel bequeathed his fortune to a foundation. The interest income was intended to finance prizes for those who "brought the greatest benefit to humanity in the previous year." The three scientific award categories are physics, physiology or medicine and chemistry. There are also the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, the Nobel Prize juries have often waited years, if not decades, before awarding the prizes for an achievement, discovery or theory. The reason for this is that it is often only clear a long time later whether an achievement was actually of such great importance that it should be honored with a Nobel Prize.

The prizes have been awarded since 1901. The endowment rose from the initial 150,782 Swedish crowns to ten million and was temporarily reduced slightly in order to be able to continue to finance the Nobel Foundation's tasks in the future. In 2026 the prize money will now be twelve million crowns. That's the equivalent of more than a million euros.

Up to three people can share the prize in a category. The Nobel Peace Prize is also awarded to organizations.

The prizes are awarded in a ceremony every year on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, December 10th. Those honored receive a certificate and the gold medal with the donor's portrait. In addition, the accounts of the winners are filled with the prize money, which must be taxed. If there are several prize winners in a category, the total will be divided.

In addition to the actual Nobel Prizes, an honor for economics has been awarded since 1969 in memory of Alfred Nobel. It is donated by the Swedish Riksbank.

The prize winners for physics and chemistry are always selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, those for medicine by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the literature prize winners by the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. The Nobel Peace Prize winners are chosen by a committee of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo.

Since 1980, the Foundation has been awarding the Right Livelihood Awards, which are often referred to as the alternative Nobel Prizes, to honor the right lifestyle.