Which Nobel Prize in Literature laureate became the only recipient to receive the award after his death?

Erik Axel Karlfeldt became the only Nobel Prize in Literature laureate to receive the award after his death.

Karlfeldt was a Swedish poet whose works drew heavily on rural landscapes, Swedish traditions, religion, and the rhythms of peasant life. He served as the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, the institution that selects the literature laureate, from 1913 until his death in 1931.

The Swedish Academy announced Karlfeldt as the 1931 laureate several months after he died on 8 April 1931. At the time, Nobel statutes did not explicitly prevent a posthumous award, so the prize was accepted on his behalf. Rules were later changed to make Nobel Prizes generally unavailable to deceased nominees unless the death occurs after the announcement.

Karlfeldt had previously declined consideration for the prize in 1919 because of his Academy position. This is why he is often associated with two unusual Nobel facts: he was both an Academy leader and the sole posthumous literature laureate.