John Foss won the Nobel Prize in Literature: Live updates

Only after speaking with colleagues, many of whom received the same surprise in the mail, did Mukherjee realize that the request was real. The sudden responsibility “was exciting,” she recalled.

The Nobel Prize is arguably the most secretive literary award in the world. The casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that every October, a handful of Swedish literary connoisseurs gather in a large hall in Stockholm and argue over which author, poet, playwright or musician they will award that year.

In fact, the process is much more byzantine.

In November every year, the Swedish Academy Sends thousands of messages Seeking nominations. The request is addressed to every living laureate, to the heads of writers’ organisations, to ‘professors of literature and language’ at prestigious universities, as well as to members of the Swedish Academy and similar institutions around the world.

Once a candidate submits his or her selection, the Academy sends him or her a thank-you note (until recently, it arrived by mail on patterned paper), but otherwise disconnects. Nominees are prohibited from speaking about their choices, and Mukherjee declined to discuss whether she had accepted the Academy’s offer to nominate someone.

Candidate suggestions also remain confidential Nobel Prize Archive for 50 years, although the online archive now announces all nominations from 1901 to 1971.

In January, the academy collected all the suggestions to create a long list of about 300 names. Members of the special Nobel Committee then narrow down the list, sometimes adding their own selections. In May, the committee presents a shortlist of five candidates The broader academyand its members are invited to follow each writer’s work before choosing a winner in the fall.

What makes a good Nobel choice? For Mukherjee, a writer must have produced “a critical mass of excellent writing that is also constantly innovating.”

For other observers of the Nobel Prize, more realistic considerations are also important. Jacob Blakeslee, associate professor of comparative literature at the University of Rome, said the author was more likely to win the Nobel Prize if his works were translated into Swedish, because that is the mother tongue of most academy members.

It also helps, Blakeslee said, that he’s received other major awards, such as the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, “as it’s seen as a more objective measure of ‘this is a great writer.'”

Blakeslee, who said he has never been asked to nominate someone for the award, said the typical Nobel laureate also has political relevance and speaks to broader events. He said Ludmila Ulitskaya, a Russian writer who moved to Berlin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, would be a good choice this year, because she spoke about events in Eastern Europe.

The final stage of the decision-making process is kept as confidential as possible.

Participating academics are not able to know the recipient until the official announcement, along with everyone else. Mukherjee said she had no problem with secrecy. She said she waits for the announcement every year, “excited for the surprise.”