The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy to an outstanding author nominated by someone appointed by the Academy. The selection process begins a year before the award, and winners receive a diploma, medal, cash prize, and lecture opportunity. Controversy surrounds the criteria, and some famous authors have been excluded while lesser-known ones have been included. Politics and affiliation were not meant to be factors, but controversy regarding politics has followed throughout its history.
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy to an author who has published a work deemed outstanding by a committee appointed by the Academy. The author must be nominated by someone whom the Academy has asked to act as nominee. The Nobel Prize was established by Alfred Nobel to recognize achievements in various arts and sciences on an annual basis. The first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 1901 to Sully Prudhomme for his poetic works.
The selection process is considered rigorous and begins at least one year before the award is given in October or November. Nominations are collected from around 1,000 people who have been asked to submit their recommendations to the committee. The winner is chosen by a commission from approximately 100 to 250 candidates. The selection committee is composed of Nobel Prize winners, academics, acclaimed authors, members of the academy and others. The committee begins its deliberations in February and its recommendation for a laureate is sent to the academy in September or October.
The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature receives a diploma, medal and cash prize, as well as the opportunity to lecture at the Academy. Most of the winners were nominated for novels and works of poetry, although essayists and playwrights were also honored. It is generally accepted that an author is nominated for his entire body of work, although several winners have been awarded for individual works of great fame.
There has been much controversy surrounding the Nobel Prize for Literature. The criteria have unofficially changed several times over the years. Some people believe that the winners’ works should defend an ideal of the human condition, while others believe that literary merit and more contemporary ideals should be the criteria. This has meant that many of the great authors of the 20th century – such as James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust and Anton Chekov – have been excluded from the list, while several authors of lesser fame, such as Dario Fo and Herta Muller, have been included.
The Nobel Prize in Literature was not meant to account for politics or affiliation when it was instituted; however, controversy regarding the award’s politics has followed throughout its history. There have been cases when winners refused to accept the prize, despite its prestige and large prize money. Many respected authors have been passed over for the award, and speculation and rumors have abounded that they have been passed over for their policies or beliefs.
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