Posted on October 9, 2015 at 12:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
By now, you’ve read plenty about Svetlana Alexievich, the investigative journalist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday.
In that spirit, we’re highlighting some fun links about past winners (and their rivals).
If you want to start out by brushing up on winners, the complete list is here. On the other hand, if you want to see which acclaimed writers were snubbed by the committee, head to the Telegraph’s roundup.
Nominations for the prize are kept secret for 50 years, at which point the archives can reveal interesting tidbits — like that Charles de Gaulle had been in the running in 1963.
That secrecy didn’t prevent British betting company Ladbrokes from achieving a 50 percent accuracy rate in predicting winners from 2005 to 2012. Read about its method in Bloomberg Business.
One easy hint, if you’re inclined to place money on someone, might be to think beyond the United States. The New Yorker put forth some theories on why Americans haven’t dominated the award.
You could, however, consider whether an author has been banned, censored, or exiled: Sampsonia Way Magazine found that in one 20-year span, the award went to 12 writers who had been challenged in some way.
Other trivia about the winners — focusing on, but not exclusively about, “firsts” — can be found in Livemint’s roundup from last year.
And to end on a celebratory note: Flavorwire selected its favorite quotes about writing from 10 Nobel acceptance speeches.
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