Haruki Murakami's latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, was released in English in 2014. Elena Seibert/Knopf hide caption

Author Salman Rushdie, seen in January 2013, was also lauded by the judges for "his countless private acts of kindness." Rajanish Kakade/AP hide caption

American writer Ernest Hemingway. AFP/Getty Images hide caption