1964 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writer Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) "for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age".

Sartre declined the prize, saying that he never accepted any official honours and that he did not want the writer to become an institution. Furthermore, regarding the political grounds for his action, Sartre declared about the Nobel prize that it is one that goes only to Westerners "or to rebels of the East". "It is regrettable that the only Soviet work honored was one that was published abroad and forbidden in its own country." The Swedish Academy said in announcement:

"It will be recalled that the laureate has made it known that he did not wish to accept the prize. The fact that he has declined this distinction does not in the least modify the validity of the award. Under the circumstances, however, the Academy can only state that the presentation of the prize cannot take place."

It is the only known occasion when a Laureate has voluntarily declined to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature.