It’s soon time for the most prestigious awards in the world. Who are the nominees and what surprises are we in for as Nobel season begins?

Nobel Peace Prize – There were 278 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014, the highest number of candidates ever. 42 are organizations. Amongst the shortlist are names like Edward Snowden in the wake of his whistleblowing that is believed to have “contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order, the International Space Station Partnership that was applauded for opening up sapce to 68 nations, education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica who lives in a tiny house and gives away 90% of his salary to low-income housing organizations and Chelsea Manning who disclosed classified information through Wikileaks. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin made the list as a promoter of peace. The winner is to be announced on October 11.

Nobel Literature Prize – This year’s list had 210 nominees, including 36 first-timers. There are nominees from around the globe, even those that haven’t been widely translated into English. Amongst those being considered this year are Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, Belarusian investigative journalist and author Svetlana Alexievich, Croatian novelist and esasyist Dubravka Ugresic, Finnish author Sofi Oksanen and Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The winner is to be announced on October 9.

Nobel Physiology/Medicine Prize – The prize is to be announced on Monday. Amongst the 263 scientists there are 46 first-timers.

The Nobel Physics Prize is to be announced on Tuesday (October 7), followed by the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday (October 8).