The winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced in Stockholm, Sweden, in October. According to online UK betting agency nicerodds.co.uk, Cormac McCarthy is again the favorite to take out the lucrative prize. The agency is offering odds of 8 to 1 for McCarthy. The second favorite is Japan’s Haruki Murakami (9 to 1) with Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker Assia Djebar currently listed in third place (10 to 1).
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 Top 10 Favorites
- Cormac McCarthy – 8 to 1
- Haruki Murakami – 9 to 1
- Assia Djebar – 10 to 1
- Don Delillo – 13 to 1
- Ko Un – 15 to 1
- Amos Oz – 15 to 1
- Philip Roth – 15 to 1
- Adonis – 17 to 1
- Joyce Carol Oates – 17 to 1
- Thomas Pynchon – 17 to 1
The Nobel Prize in Literature: The World’s Richest Literary Prize
The Nobel Prize is the world’s richest literary award, valued at 10 million Swedish kroner or approximately 1.5 million US dollars. In the lead-up to the 2010 prize announcement, Cormac McCarthy was also the bookmakers’ favorite, with British bookmaker Ladbrokes offering odds of 15 to 2. The 2010 Prize was in fact awarded to Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa. Ladbrokes odds for the South American novelist and essayist never went above 25 to 1.
Despite being an internationally coveted award, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature is solely selected by the members of the Swedish Academy; an organization whose primary purpose is to further the ‘purity, strength, and sublimity of the Swedish language’.
Read more about the how the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature is chosen
Could Bob Dylan win a Nobel Prize?
Bob Dylan, one of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century, regularly figures in Nobel Prize in Literature speculation. Dylan again appears to be among the contenders. Bookmaker nicerodds.co.uk currently lists Dylan as the 15th favorite to take out the prize with odds of 101 to 1, equal with Booker Prize winner John Banville. Should Dylan win a Nobel Prize in Literature it could redefine how the general public perceives the prize. Dylan is a household name around the world, in stark contrast to recent winners Herta Müller and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio who were virtually unknown to many book lovers outside Germany and France respectively.
Sources
- 'Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 Odds', nicerodds.co.uk
- Jason Steger, 'Our Nobel men of letters crunch the numbers - and close the books', The Age (7 October 2010)
- Official Website of the Nobel Prize (accessed 29 June 2011)
Cate Allan - Cate Allan is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She has published widely on language, travel and the arts.
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