“My first thought was ‘I won’t have any friends,’ because most of my friends are writers”, says Louise Glück, having just heard the news that she had been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Watch the announcement of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature presented by Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy.

See all Nobel Laureates in Literature 1901-2020 and read about why they were awarded the Nobel Prize.

Literature was the fourth prize area Nobel mentioned in his will. Learn more about the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In keeping with the times, Reinhard Genzel was in the middle of a virtual conference when he was surprised by the call announcing, "This is Stockholm!"

That’s how Andrea Ghez succinctly sums-up her motivation for becoming an astrophysicist in this conversation recorded  shortly after she heard the news of her Nobel Prize in a 2 am call from Stockholm.

In this telephone interview, Roger Penrose recounts the story of how a crossroads in Dallas held the key to his seminal 1965 paper on the theoretical basis of black holes.

See all Nobel Laureates in Physics 1901-2020 and read about why they were awarded the Nobel Prize.

Harvey Alter's anger at being disturbed by a call in the night was quickly transformed when he learned he had been awarded a share of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.

“We don’t engage in these activities to win prizes,” reflects Charles Rice in this short conversation with Adam Smith of nobelprize.org, recorded just after he had heard the news from Stockholm.

So began Michael Houghton's day after being called by a friend who had just heard news of his Nobel Prize at 3 am in Alberta, Canada.

See all Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine 1901-2020 and read about why they were awarded the Nobel Prize.

See the full list of all Nobel Laureates, awarded for "the greatest benefit to humankind".

Fifteen laureates were awarded Nobel Prizes in 2019. See a short presentation of them here.

See the list of all women awarded a Nobel Prize or a Prize in Economic Sciences so far.

Youngest Nobel Laureate ever is Malala Yousafzai. She was 17 years old when she was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 342 million dollars) to fund the Nobel Prizes.

When Alfred was five years old his father Immanuel, an inventor and builder, moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred joined him a few years later.

Based on Alfred’s work and patents a whole new industry developed. Within ten years, 16 explosives producing factories had been founded in 14 countries.

In his will of 27 November 1895, signed in Paris, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used for prizes.

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 is awarded to the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.”

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 was awarded to Peter Handke “for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience.”

The Nobel Peace Prize 2019 was awarded to Abiy Ahmed Ali “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.”

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”

No person can nominate herself/himself for a Nobel Prize. But who can? And how are these persons chosen?

In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.

Search among the names of the nominees and nominators, as well as additional information about the nominations 1901-1966.

Mohandas Gandhi has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?

Chemistry Laureate Mario Molina has passed away aged 77. He received the Nobel Prize for research concerning the ozone layer, which shields the Earth from dangerous solar radiation.

Arthur Ashkin, awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of optical tweezers, and their application to biological systems, passed away on 21 September at age 98.

Peace Laureate John Hume passed away on 3 August 2020. He shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize with David Trimble "for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland."

Oliver E. Williamson passed away on 21 May. He was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2009 "for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm."