Which Swedish writer became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?

Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Swedish Academy awarded Lagerlöf the prize in 1909, praising the idealism, imagination, and spiritual perception of her writing. She was also the first Swedish author to receive the literature prize, making the award important both nationally and internationally.

Lagerlöf was born in 1858 at Mårbacka in Värmland. Her best-known works include The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, a children’s travel story set across Sweden, and Gösta Berling’s Saga, her 1891 debut novel. Her storytelling often blends folklore, history, morality, and the landscapes of rural Sweden.

She later became the first woman elected to the Swedish Academy, in 1914. She should not be confused with Sigrid Undset, who won the same Nobel category in 1928 for Norway.