Which American author of The Good Earth won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Pearl S. Buck
58 The Nobel Prize In Literature Trivia Questions with Answers
58 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
The Nobel Prize in Literature trivia examines laureates, languages, countries, landmark books, and the history of the world’s most famous literary award. Questions include Pearl S. Buck’s 1938 prize, the 2015 laureate Svetlana Alexievich, J. M. G. Le Clézio’s 2008 award, and Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1978 recognition. Other clues focus on Rudyard Kipling, Provençal writer Frédéric Mistral, Seamus Heaney, and prizes shared by two laureates.
This 59-question collection suits literature classes, book clubs, pub quizzes, and readers building a broader knowledge of world writing. It ranges across novels, poetry, journalism, minority-language literature, and translated works. Some questions reward recognition of famous authors, while others test chronology, language, and the award’s unusual historical details.
Which Belarusian journalist and author won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Svetlana Alexievich
Which French-Mauritian writer won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
J. M. G. Le Clézio
Which Yiddish-language writer won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Which author of The Jungle Book won the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Rudyard Kipling
Which Irish playwright and novelist won the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Samuel Beckett
Which writer became the first American Nobel laureate in Literature in 1930?
Answer
Sinclair Lewis
Which British author of Never Let Me Go won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Kazuo Ishiguro
Which Nigerian playwright became the first African Nobel laureate in Literature?
Answer
Wole Soyinka
Which French novelist won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Literature for the novel cycle Les Thibault?
Answer
Roger Martin du Gard
Which Swiss writer won the 1919 Nobel Prize in Literature for Olympian Spring?
Answer
Carl Spitteler
Which historian won the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature for work including A History of Rome?
Answer
Theodor Mommsen
Which Saint Lucian poet and playwright won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992?
Answer
Derek Walcott
Which Romanian-born German writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009?
Answer
Herta Müller
Which Nobel literature laureate wrote the novel trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter?
Answer
Sigrid Undset
Which German-Swiss author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946?
Answer
Hermann Hesse
Which Greek poet and diplomat won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1963?
Answer
Giorgos Seferis
Which Tanzanian-born novelist won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021?
Answer
Abdulrazak Gurnah
Which Israeli writer shared the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature with Nelly Sachs?
Answer
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Which Peruvian-Spanish novelist won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Mario Vargas Llosa
Which Polish writer received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Olga Tokarczuk
Who became the first non-European Nobel laureate in Literature in 1913?
Answer
Rabindranath Tagore
Which institution awards the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Swedish Academy
Which Chilean poet and educator won the 1945 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Gabriela Mistral
Which American author wrote 'The Grapes of Wrath' and won the 1962 Nobel Prize?
Answer
John Steinbeck
Which German author wrote 'The Magic Mountain' and won the 1929 Nobel Prize?
Answer
Thomas Mann
Which Irish poet and dramatist won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
W.B. Yeats
Which Polish author wrote 'Quo Vadis' and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905?
Answer
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Which Danish author shared the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature with Karl Gjellerup?
Answer
Henrik Pontoppidan
Which Canadian-born author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976?
Answer
Saul Bellow
Which French poet won the first Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901?
Answer
Sully Prudhomme
Which Russian émigré author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933?
Answer
Ivan Bunin
Which Mexican poet and essayist won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990?
Answer
Octavio Paz
Which Canadian short story writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013?
Answer
Alice Munro
Which American author won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature for 'The Old Man and the Sea'?
Answer
Ernest Hemingway
Which author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903 for his lyrical poetry?
Answer
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Who is the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Doris Lessing
Who was the first person awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously?
Answer
Erik Axel Karlfeldt
Which American-born British poet won the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
T.S. Eliot
Which French-Algerian author won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Albert Camus
Which South African author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003?
Answer
J.M. Coetzee
The Nobel Prize In Literature trivia — quick answers
What are good Nobel Prize in Literature trivia questions?
Good Nobel Prize in Literature questions identify laureates, winning years, notable books, languages, and award patterns. Examples include naming the author of The Good Earth, identifying the 2015 laureate, recalling Seamus Heaney’s award year, and determining how many prizes were shared.
How hard is Nobel Prize in Literature trivia?
Nobel Prize in Literature trivia is moderate to difficult. Famous laureates such as Rudyard Kipling may be recognizable, but questions about less widely read writers, languages, exact award years, and shared prizes reward serious reading and literary-history knowledge.
Who won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Pearl S. Buck won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature. The American author was recognized for her rich and genuinely epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces, including The Good Earth.
In what year did Seamus Heaney win the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. The Swedish Academy praised his works for their lyrical beauty and ethical depth, describing poetry that made everyday life and historical experience resonate with unusual clarity.
Which language is Frédéric Mistral associated with?
Frédéric Mistral is associated with Provençal, also called Occitan. The French poet and lexicographer received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature, sharing it with José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, and helped preserve and promote the language of southern France.