In 1939, he became the first Finnish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature".

[2][3] His acquaintances at university included the painters Eero Järnefelt and Pekka Halonen, composer Jean Sibelius and author Juhani Aho.

[2] The novel Hurskas kurjuus (Meek Heritage) (1919) depicted the reasons for Finnish Civil War and was controversial at the time due to its objective approach.

In 1939, Sillanpää was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature.

[8] Before the Winter War, Sillanpää wrote the lyrics for Sillanpään marssilaulu to lift his spirits when his eldest son Esko was partaking in military practices at Karelian Isthmus.