The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced this Thursday, October 9, and as every year, British bookmakers are busy making their predictions about who will take home the prestigious award.
According to NicerOdds, Gerald Murnane currently tops the list of favorites, while Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood, and Can Xue remain strong contenders.
This year’s laureate will receive 11 million Swedish kronor — approximately $1.2 million USD — reaffirming the Nobel’s status as one of the most coveted prizes in the literary world.
Leading Favorites (Odds by British Bookmakers)
- Gerald Murnane – 5/1
- László Krasznahorkai – 6/1
- Cristina Rivera Garza – 9/1
- Haruki Murakami – 11/1
- Mircea Cărtărescu – 11/1
- Thomas Pynchon – 11/1
- Can Xue – 14/1
- Enrique Vila-Matas – 14/1
- Michel Houellebecq – 14/1
- Alexis Wright – 17/1
- Jamaica Kincaid – 17/1
- Salman Rushdie – 17/1
- Anne Carson – 19/1
- César Aira – 19/1
- Colm Tóibín – 19/1
- Ersi Sotiropoulos – 19/1
- Péter Nádas – 19/1
- Pierre Michon – 19/1
- Raul Zúrita – 19/1
- Karl Ove Knausgaard – 21/1
- Helle Helle – 24/1
- Isabel Allende – 24/1
- Ko Un – 24/1
- Milton Hatoum – 24/1
- Yoko Tawada – 24/1
- Elena Poniatowska – 29/1
- Homero Aridjis – 29/1
- Joyce Carol Oates – 29/1
- Ludmila Ulitskaya – 29/1
- Margaret Atwood – 34/1
- Paul Simon – 49/1
- Stephen King – 49/1
Last year’s winner, Han Kang, triumphed despite odds of 33/1, proving that the Nobel often brings unexpected surprises.
While betting odds offer some insight, the Swedish Academy’s decision is notoriously unpredictable — keeping readers and literary enthusiasts around the world eagerly waiting for Thursday’s revelation.
