Selma Lagerlöf(01 of13)
Open Image ModalShe\'s the first woman to win the prize, and is famous for her children\'s book, \"The Wonderful Adventures of Nils,\" which was commissioned by Sweden\'s National Teachers Association, and includes fascinating descriptions of the country\'s wildlife, as well as previously unpublished folklore. (credit:Wikimedia)
Rabindranath Tagore(02 of13)
Open Image ModalTagore was the first non-European to win, and is responsible for introducing Indian culture to the West. In addition to novels, he wrote songs and \"dance dramas.\" (credit:Wikimedia )
William Butler Yeats(03 of13)
Open Image ModalThe Irish poet\'s work, \"The Second Coming,\" inspired the title of Chinua Achebe\'s \"Things Fall Apart,\" and the epigraph of Joan Didion\'s \"Slouching Towards Bethlehem.\" (credit:Wikimedia)
George Bernard Shaw(04 of13)
Open Image ModalAnother Irish winner, Shaw was primarily a playwright -- He also won an Oscar for an adaptation of one of his own plays, \"Pygmalion.\"
T. S. Eliot(05 of13)
Open Image ModalBritish poet and social critic Eliot is known for more than \"The Waste Land\": We suggest you pick up \"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,\" too.
Ernest Hemingway(06 of13)
Open Image ModalOne of the rare American winners, Hemingway\'s \"The Old Man and he Sea\" thrust him back into the spotlight after years of so-so criticism. We suggest starting with his short stories.
Pablo Neruda(07 of13)
Open Image ModalThe Chilean poet will win you over with his poignant thoughts on love. (credit:Wikimedia)
Gabriel García Márquez(08 of13)
Open Image ModalThe Columbian writer made magical realism a popular thing, and we are so grateful. (credit:Wikimedia)
Naguib Mahfouz(09 of13)
Open Image ModalThe first Egyptian writer to tackle Existentialism, Mahfouz introduces Arabic language and contemporary Egyptian culture to the West. (credit:Wikimedia)
Nadine Gordimer(10 of13)
Open Image ModalGordimer relentlessly wrote about apartheid in South Africa, in spite of many of her titles being banned. We recommend \"The Conservationist,\" which won the Booker in 1974. (credit:Wikimedia)
Orhan Pamuk(11 of13)
Open Image ModalPamuk\'s \"Istanbul\" fights the Western fixation with the city, associating its melancholy with charm. It\'s also just a beautifully-written memoir, and we highly recommend it, along with his fictional works. He underwent the ambitious task of building an entire museum to complement one of his novels. (credit:Wikimedia)
Doris Lessing(12 of13)
Open Image ModalThe British author penned \"The Golden Notebook,\" which Barak Obama has cited as one of his favorites. (credit:Wikimedia)
Tomas Tranströmer(13 of13)
Open Image ModalThe Swedish poet and psychologist is known for his odes to the beauty of the natural world. (credit:Wikimedia)