Motivations, Functions, and Effects of the Nobel Prize in Literature

<ns3:p>The main purpose of Edward Kasperski’s article, developed from a paper for the international conferenceNobel Prizes in Literature: A Bridge Between Cultures in 2011 in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria,is to discuss the Nobel award’s motivations, effects, and functions, to point out paradoxes associatedwith it, infl uences of the media, technology, and the literary industry on its functioning,to discuss juror decisions in the context of the world literature canon, and fi nally to point out mysteriesassociated with the prize. Kasperski’s article contains important additions to numerical data theeditor added in footnotes (for recognitions it includes account for decisions until 2024 by the NobelCommittee and the Swedish Academy).</ns3:p>