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TL;DR
- Only 18 out of 121 Nobel Literature Prize laureates have been women since the award’s inception in 1901.
- The most recent female laureate is Han Kang from South Korea, awarded in 2024.
- Notable past winners include Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, and Louise Glück.
- This list highlights the historical gender disparity in Nobel Literature recognitions.
Since the inception of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, only 18 women have been honored with this prestigious award out of a total of 121 laureates. This highlights a significant gender disparity in the recognition of literary achievements. Below is a list of the women who have received the Nobel Prize in Literature:
- 2024: Han Kang (South Korea)
- 2022: Annie Ernaux (France)
- 2020: Louise Glück (United States)
- 2018: Olga Tokarczuk (Poland)
- 2015: Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus)
- 2013: Alice Munro (Canada)
- 2009: Herta Müller (Germany)
- 2007: Doris Lessing (Britain)
- 2004: Elfriede Jelinek (Austria)
- 1996: Wisława Szymborska (Poland)
- 1993: Toni Morrison (United States)
- 1991: Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)
- 1966: Nelly Sachs (Sweden), shared with Shmuel Agnon of Israel
- 1945: Gabriela Mistral (Chile)
- 1938: Pearl Buck (United States)
- 1928: Sigrid Undset (Norway)
- 1926: Grazia Deledda (Italy)
- 1909: Selma Lagerlöf (Sweden)
This list reflects the historical underrepresentation of women in the Nobel Prize for Literature, despite their significant contributions to the literary world.
Source: Barron’s
