Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, also US: , Swedish: [²sɛlːma ²lɑːɡɛˌɭøːv] (listen); 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author and teacher. She published her first novel, Gösta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. She was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was awarded in 1909. Additionally, she was the first female to be granted a membership in The Swedish Academy in 1914.