Nobel Odds

October is Nobel season. Throughout the month of October, beginning this year on the 4th, the Nobel  Prize Foundation will begin making their announcements on this year's winners every couple of days.  Click here for the full schedule.

The literature prize does not have a scheduled date yet, but that has not stopped people from posting the favorites with official odds. Click here and here for details.

As a librarian I love the fact that someone cares enough to post odds on a literature prize.  As usual, Philip Roth (who has a new book coming out next week) and Joyce Carol Oates make the short list, as well as Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo. But the rumored favorite is Swedish poet and translator, Tomas Tranströmer.

In terms of attracting readers though, the Pulitzer Prize is much more popular than the Nobel at the BPL with the National Book Award coming in second. For the record, the Pulitzer is announced in April and the National Book award in November.