As of 2025, 122 individuals had received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The total counts people, not simply prize ceremonies, because some awards were shared and therefore produced more than one laureate.
The Literature Nobel was first awarded in 1901 to French poet Sully Prudhomme. By the end of 2025, the prize had been awarded 118 times to 122 individuals. Four awards were divided between two writers: 1904, 1917, 1966 and 1974. No Literature Nobel was awarded in several years, including 1914, 1918, 1935 and 1940–1943.
The final addition to the 2025 total was Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai, recognized for a visionary body of work that reaffirms art amid apocalyptic terror. The figure can change with a future laureate, so “as of 2025” is essential wording. It also differs from the number of awards: 122 people received 118 prizes, while 18 of the laureates were women.