Swedish Academy to Announce 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature on October 8

Key facts

• The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on October 8 at around 1:00 p.m. CEST in Stockholm.
• Ingrid Carlberg, the new permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, will lead the press conference.
• The Swedish Academy has 18 members: writers, professors, and intellectuals.
• Nomination forms are sent in September of the previous year to hundreds of eligible individuals and organizations.
• The list of nominees can reach 200 names per year, and the committee may add names from previous years.
• The Nobel Committee shortlists five names in spring, and Academy members read their works over the summer.
• Nominee lists are kept secret for 50 years.
• Alfred Nobel's will specifies the prize should go to the person who produced 'the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction.'
• Gisele Sapiro is research director at France's National Centre for Scientific Research.
• All laureates since 1990 had been translated into English, French, and German except Abdulrazak Gurnah, the 2021 winner.
• Svetlana Alexievich, the 2015 winner, is an outspoken critic of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
• Bob Dylan received the prize in 2016 for his song lyrics.
• Only 33 of 122 laureates have come from outside Europe.
• Women make up 14.9% of laureates, with men and women alternating in the past eight years.
• Chinese author Can Xue holds the best bookmakers' odds for 2026.