WÅ adysÅ aw Reymont won a Nobel prize in 1924 . Influential authors of the late 19th and 20th centuries include Henryk Sienkiewicz , WÅ adysÅ aw Reymont , Witold Gombrowicz and CzesÅ aw MiÅ osz . To date four Polish authors have won the nobel prize for literature , with WÅ adysÅ aw Reymont being one of only nine writers to receive the prestigious award for one particular , outstanding literary work ( awarded for the great national epic , ` The Peasants ' in 1924 ) rather than their career as a whole .