Literature & Authors
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This Tanzanian-born novelist, author of 'Paradise,' explores the refugee experience between cultures; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021.
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This author of the novel 'Voss' became the first Australian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1973.
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This American playwright of 'Mourning Becomes Electra' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936.
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This Polish novelist of 'Flights' received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, though it wasn't announced until 2019 due to a scandal that had paused the award the year before.
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Exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972, this poet later became a U.S. citizen and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987.
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All 100 questions in this topic, with answers — use it to study, or just browse. Every actual play of the puzzle only pulls a random handful of these into one game, so knowing them all here won't spoil which ones show up or where they're hidden in the grid. Play it here.
This author of 'My Name Is Red' became the first Turkish writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 2006.
PAMUKHungarian novelist '_ _ _ _ _ _' Krasznahorkai, known for dense, apocalyptic prose and collaborations with filmmaker Béla Tarr, won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature.
LASZLOThis poet from Saint Lucia wrote the epic 'Omeros,' echoing Homer in a Caribbean setting; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992.
WALCOTTThe 1929 Nobel laureate, this German novelist is best known for 'Buddenbrooks' and 'The Magic Mountain.'
MANNBorn in Bulgaria but writing in German and later a British citizen, this novelist of 'Auto-da-Fé' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.
CANETTIThis Bengali poet became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1913 for his poetry collection 'Gitanjali.'
TAGOREBelarusian writer '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' Alexievich won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature for oral-history works such as 'Voices from Chernobyl.'
SVETLANAThis author of 'The Vegetarian' became the first South Korean, and the first Asian woman, to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 2024.
HANKANGSwedish poet '_ _ _ _ _' Tranströmer, known for vivid, dreamlike imagery, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.
TOMASBorn in Iran and raised in colonial Rhodesia, this British novelist of 'The Golden Notebook' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.
LESSINGAuthor of 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,' 1970 laureate Solzhenitsyn has the first name '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.'
ALEKSANDRIn 1909, this Swedish novelist, known for 'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils,' became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
LAGERLOFThis British author of 'The Jungle Book' became the first English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1907.
KIPLINGThis Romanian-born German-language novelist depicted life under Ceaușescu's dictatorship in works like 'The Land of Green Plums'; she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009.
MULLERThis American novelist chronicled Dust Bowl migrants in 'The Grapes of Wrath'; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.
STEINBECKThis Colombian author of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' is Gabriel García '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'
MARQUEZSoviet authorities forced this author of 'Doctor Zhivago' to decline the Nobel Prize in Literature after he was awarded it in 1958.
PASTERNAKThis Bosnian-born novelist won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature for works including 'The Bridge on the Drina.'
ANDRICSharing the 1904 prize, this French poet helped revive the Provençal language through the Félibrige literary movement.
MISTRALIn 2016, this American singer-songwriter became the first musician honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature.
DYLANThis Mexican poet and essayist wrote 'The Labyrinth of Solitude' and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.
PAZThis author of 'Beloved' became the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1993.
MORRISONThis poet became the first Czech citizen to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1984.
SEIFERTA career diplomat as well as a poet, this writer became the first Greek citizen to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1963.
SEFERISThis American author of 'The Old Man and the Sea' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
HEMINGWAYSharing the 1966 prize, this writer remains the only laureate honored primarily for Hebrew-language fiction.
AGNONThough best known as a mathematician and philosopher, this Briton won the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature for his wide-ranging writings championing free thought.
RUSSELLThis Polish novelist won the 1924 prize for his epic four-volume novel 'The Peasants,' depicting village life through the seasons.
REYMONTA survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, this Hungarian novelist drew on that experience for 'Fatelessness'; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002.
KERTESZWriting almost entirely in Yiddish, this Polish-born American author remains the only laureate honored for that language, winning in 1978.
SINGERThis Irish playwright's 'Pygmalion' later inspired the musical 'My Fair Lady'; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.
SHAWBelgian playwright Maeterlinck, author of 'The Blue Bird' and the 1911 laureate, is known by the first name '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'
MAURICEPeruvian novelist Mario Vargas '_ _ _ _ _,' author of 'The Feast of the Goat,' won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.
LLOSAThis French poet became the very first Nobel Prize in Literature laureate in 1901.
PRUDHOMMEThis Irish poet, honored in 1923, helped lead the Irish Literary Revival and wrote 'The Second Coming.'
YEATSThis French writer's autobiographical work 'The Years' blends personal and collective memory; she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022.
ERNAUXThis British playwright, famous for using long, tense silences in works like 'The Birthday Party,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.
PINTERThis Irish playwright's absurdist drama 'Waiting for Godot' helped earn him the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature.
BECKETTThis German-born author of 'Siddhartha' and 'Steppenwolf,' later a Swiss citizen, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.
HESSEThis Swedish poet's science-fiction epic 'Aniara,' about a spaceship fleeing a devastated Earth, was later adapted into an opera; he shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature.
MARTINSONThis Spanish poet's lyrical prose work 'Platero and I,' about a small donkey, helped earn him the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature.
JIMENEZThis Swedish poet remains the only person awarded a posthumous Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1931 after his death earlier that same year.
KARLFELDTLiving in exile in France as a stateless émigré, this novelist became the first Russian writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1933.
BUNINThis novelist of 'Independent People' remains the only Icelandic citizen ever to win a Nobel Prize in any category; he won for literature in 1955.
LAXNESSThe first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945, was Chilean poet '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' Mistral, born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga.
GABRIELAThis author of the novel 'Blindness' became the first Portuguese-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1998.
SARAMAGOThis Guatemalan novelist's 'El Señor Presidente,' a portrait of a fictional dictator, contributed to his winning the 1967 Nobel Prize in Literature.
ASTURIASItalian satirist Fo, author of 'Accidental Death of an Anarchist' and the 1997 laureate, has the first name '_ _ _ _ _.'
DARIOThis French-Mauritian novelist won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature for a body of work often set among cultures on the margins of Western civilization.
LECLEZIOThis American author of 'The Good Earth,' set among Chinese farmers, became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1938.
BUCKIn 1930, this American novelist of 'Main Street' and 'Babbitt' became the first U.S. writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
LEWISThis British author of 'Lord of the Flies' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983.
GOLDINGThis Nigerian playwright became the first Sub-Saharan African writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1986.
SOYINKAThis American poet's spare, deeply personal verse earned her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020.
GLUCKThe 1905 laureate, Polish novelist Sienkiewicz, author of 'Quo Vadis,' had the first name '_ _ _ _ _ _.'
HENRYKThis German novelist's postwar fiction, including 'The Clown,' explored guilt and rebuilding after World War II; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972.
BOLLThis American novelist set much of his work, including 'The Sound and the Fury,' in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949.
FAULKNERThis author of 'Snow Country' became the first Japanese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1968.
KAWABATAThis Egyptian novelist, author of the 'Cairo Trilogy,' remains the only Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1988.
MAHFOUZThis Chilean poet, who once served as his country's ambassador to France, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971.
NERUDAThis novelist remains the only Finnish citizen ever to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1939.
SILLANPAAThis French novelist and essayist, author of 'The Immoralist,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947.
GIDEBetter remembered as a wartime prime minister, this Briton won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical writing and oratory.
CHURCHILLThis Austrian novelist and playwright, author of 'The Piano Teacher,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004.
JELINEKBest known as a philosopher for concepts like the 'élan vital,' this Frenchman nonetheless won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature for the artistry of his prose.
BERGSONThis Norwegian author of the novel 'Hunger' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920.
HAMSUNIn 2000, Gao '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' became the first Chinese-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, by then a naturalized French citizen.
XINGJIANThis German-born poet, who fled to Sweden to escape the Nazis, shared the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature for poems confronting the Holocaust.
SACHSThis Irish poet, known for 'Death of a Naturalist' and a celebrated translation of 'Beowulf,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.
HEANEYThis Chinese author of 'Red Sorghum' writes under a pen name that literally means 'don't speak'; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012.
MOYANAt just 44 years old, this French-Algerian author of 'The Stranger' became one of the youngest-ever Nobel literature laureates, in 1957.
CAMUSPolish poet Szymborska, the 1996 laureate known for ironic, precisely observed short poems, is named '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'
WISLAWAThis Sardinian-born novelist became the only Italian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, honored in 1926.
DELEDDAThis French existentialist philosopher and playwright famously declined the Nobel Prize in Literature he was awarded in 1964.
SARTREBorn in Japan but raised in Britain, this novelist of 'The Remains of the Day' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017.
ISHIGUROThis South African novelist's fiction, including 'Burger's Daughter,' confronted apartheid; she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991.
GORDIMERThis Polish-born poet, who defected from the Communist government and wrote 'The Captive Mind,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980.
MILOSZThis Spanish novelist's stark debut, 'The Family of Pascual Duarte,' helped earn him the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature.
CELAThis French novelist's work repeatedly probes memory and the Nazi occupation of France; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2014.
MODIANOThis German novelist's 'The Tin Drum' became a landmark of postwar literature; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999.
GRASSThis Norwegian writer, the 1903 laureate, penned the lyrics to his country's national anthem.
BJORNSONThis Norwegian author of the novel cycle 'Septology' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023.
FOSSEBorn in Trinidad, this British novelist of 'A House for Mr Biswas' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.
NAIPAULItalian playwright Pirandello, author of 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' and the 1934 laureate, has the first name '_ _ _ _ _.'
LUIGIThe French satirist who wrote under the pen name '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ France' won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature.
ANATOLEJapanese novelist Ōe, author of 'A Personal Matter' and the 1994 laureate, has the first name '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.'
KENZABUROBorn in the U.S. but later a British citizen, this poet of 'The Waste Land' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.
ELIOTThis Soviet novelist won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature for his epic 'And Quiet Flows the Don,' depicting Cossack life.
SHOLOKHOVThis Canadian-born American novelist of 'Herzog' and 'Humboldt's Gift' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976.
BELLOWThis South African novelist of 'Disgrace' had already won the Booker Prize twice before taking the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
COETZEEThis Austrian writer, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film 'Wings of Desire,' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2019.
HANDKEThis Italian poet, associated with the spare, symbolic 'hermetic' style, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959.
QUASIMODOCelebrated as a master of the short story, this Canadian author of 'Dear Life' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013.
MUNROThis German scholar won the 1902 literature prize primarily for his monumental multi-volume history of ancient Rome, despite being a historian rather than a novelist or poet.
MOMMSENThis Norwegian author of the medieval trilogy 'Kristin Lavransdatter' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928.
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