The Nobel Prize in Literature is given each year to an author(s), who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of literature, irrespective of which country he/she belongs to or what genre he/she writes in. This honor is conferred to literary geniuses from all across the world since the year 1901, and is considered as the most prestigious of all literary honors. The Nobel Prize in Literature is one of the five Nobel Prizes, which are given out in accordance to the will of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish engineer, chemist, and manufacturer; the other four are awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Peace, and Medicine. With respect to the Nobel Prize in Literature, Alfred Nobel said in his will that it will be given, "in the field of literature to the most outstanding work in an ideal direction". Interestingly, this award is based, not on the individual works of an author, but his/her overall contribution to the field. The Swedish Academy, which is in charge of deciding who, if anyone, would receive the prize in that particular year, usually declares the name of the laureate in early October. Each awardee receives a medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize, however, the amount has differed over the years. From 1901 to 2015, 112 authors from around the globe have been conferred by this honor, out of which 12 are women. We at Buzzle have enlisted, here, the people who have won this honor till 2015, along with what the Nobel committee had to say about their choice. INDEX » 1901 - 1920 » 1921 - 1940 » 1941-1960 » 1961 - 1980 » 1981 - 2000 » 2001 - 2015 * Source: nobelprize.org Despite the fact that the Nobel Prize in literature is one of the topmost honors in the field, it has lately been subject to a lot of criticism. Some critics have questioned the very criteria for choosing the awardees, saying that some of the most famous and well-known authors were never even nominated for the award. There have also been several controversies regarding the involvement of political interests with respect to the nomination process. In spite of all these criticisms and controversies, the award continues to be an important benchmark in the field of literature.