<P> The Nobel Prize in Literature ( Swedish : Nobelpriset i litteratur ) has been awarded annually , since 1901 , to an author from any country who has , in the words of the will of Alfred Nobel , produced `` in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction '' ( original Swedish : den som inom litteraturen har producerat det mest framstående verket i en idealisk riktning ) . Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy , here `` work '' refers to an author 's work as a whole . The Swedish Academy decides who , if anyone , will receive the prize in any given year . The academy announces the name of the chosen laureate in early October . It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 ; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry , Nobel Prize in Physics , Nobel Peace Prize , and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine . </P>
when was the nobel prize for literature first awarded
1901