Our Blog — The Literary Type

Apparently, people will place bets on anything. And literary awards are no exception.

I've just stumbled across the Unibet online betting odds for this year's Nobel Prize in Literature. As the judges are about to conclude their reading period, I wonder if someone has leaked their comments, to allow for such detailed tabulations. The Nobel Literature prize is awarded, each year, to the writer produced "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction". The judges consider in the neighbourhood of 200 nominations each year.

It looks as though they're giving Alice Munro [TNQ #119] 1 in 15 odds of winning, even though her latest book, Dear Life, will not be released until October. Chinese author Mo Yan appears to be the favourite, however, at 1 in 6.5 odds. Although I am not a betting woman, I am quite amused to see the odds listed on a website dedicated to sports betting.

Update August 27: Today Quillblog links to Toronto Life's story on Ladbrokes' odds on the Nobel Prize. Their top pick is Japanese author Haruki Murakami. They give Alice Munro 20:1 odds, and Margaret Atwood [TNQ #119] 50:1 odds.