The key facts

  • 2026 Nobel winners announced October 5–12 in six categories; prizes presented December 10 in Stockholm and Oslo.
  • Peace Prize went to the head of the UN commission that concluded genocide was committed in Gaza; Trump sharply criticized the committee.
  • For the 125th anniversary, the prize amount was raised to 12 million Swedish kronor (~$1.2 million).

The winners of the 2026 season were announced on October 5–12 announced. The prize in six categories went to scientists, a poet and a legal scholar. The head of the UN commission that concluded genocide had been committed in Gaza was deemed worthy of the Peace Prize. This time, too, President Trump, who was left empty-handed, sharply criticized the Nobel committee. The prizes are presented to their recipients on December 10 — the day Alfred Nobel died — in Stockholm and Oslo.

How are Nobel laureates and nominees selected?

The Nobel selection is not an open competition: one cannot submit an application or nominate oneself. Laureates in physics, chemistry and economics are chosen by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; in physiology or medicine, by the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute, made up of 50 professors. The winner in literature is chosen by the 18-member Swedish Academy. The Peace Prize, according to Nobel's will, is awarded by the five-member Nobel Committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament awards it.

In the fields of science and literature, candidates may be nominated by academy members who have received an invitation, previous laureates and professors in the field; in literature, also by the chairs of writers' associations. For the Peace Prize the circle is broader: tens of thousands of people, such as members of parliaments and governments, heads of state, and professors of history, law and philosophy, are entitled to nominate candidates.

The names of nominees are kept secret for 50 years. A single prize may be awarded to at most three people. A laureate receives a diploma, a gold medal weighing on average 175 grams, and a cash prize. In 2026, marking the 125th anniversary of the prize, the Nobel Foundation raised the amount of each prize from 11 to 12 million Swedish kronor. That is approximately 1.2 million US dollars.

6 categories and 10 winners

  1. The field of physiology or medicine

Prize week was traditionally opened by the medicine category: on October 5 the Karolinska Institute announced that the prize was awarded "fordiscoveries in light-activated ion channels and the field of optogenetics" awarded it announced