Nobel prize 2016: US songwriter Bob Dylan bags honour for literature

Bob has been one of the most celebrated and influential musicians for more than five decades.

Swedish Academy on Thursday made this announcement awarding the 8 million Swedish crown ($927,740) prize.

The choice was met by gasps and a long round of applause from journalists attending the prize announcement.

The folk singer has been mentioned in Nobel speculation in past years, but was never seen as a serious contender. 

Also read: Nobel Literature Prize 2016: Everything you want to know about music icon Bob Dylan

The Academy`s permanent secretary Sara Danius said Dylan`s songs were "poetry for the ears."

The Nobel award is the latest accolade for a singer who has come a long way from his humble beginnings as Robert Allen Zimmerman, born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, who taught himself to play the harmonica, guitar and piano.

Last year, the prize went to Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich, for her documentary-style narratives based on witness testimonies.

Literature was the last of this year`s Nobel prizes to be awarded.

Press release from the Swedish Academy @bobdylan awarded 2016 #NobelPrize in Literature: https://t.co/fPsRtG97r7 pic.twitter.com/Il0xdIfJo2

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 13, 2016

The 2016 laureates will receive their awards -- a gold medal and a diploma -- at a formal ceremony in Stockholm as tradition dictates on December 10, the anniversary of the death of prize creator Alfred Nobel. 

A separate ceremony is held in Oslo for the peace prize laureate on the same day, as the Norwegian Nobel Committee grants that award.

The prize is named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature and peace in accordance with his will.

(With agency inputs)