Nobel Prize in Literature 1919

Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/1

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1919 was awarded to Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler "in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring"

Carl Spitteler received his Nobel Prize one year later, in 1920. During the selection process in 1919, the Nobel Committee for Literature decided that none of the year's nominations met the criteria as outlined in the will of Alfred Nobel. According to the Nobel Foundation's statutes, the Nobel Prize can in such a case be reserved until the following year, and this statute was then applied. Carl Spitteler therefore received his Nobel Prize for 1919 one year later, in 1920.

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1919. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Sun. 7 Dec 2025. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1919/summary/>

Go to the top of the page

Follow Nobel Week live

Watch the 2025 Nobel Prize lectures, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.