FILE - In this Oct. 30, 1942 file photo, German author Thomas Mann is captured reading in Los Angeles. Mann won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature "principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks (1901), which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature." Nine laureates have been singled out for a particular work. Mann became an increasingly vocal critic of Nazism when living in exile in the United States during World War II. This year's winner is due to be announced on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016. (AP Photo, File)