The Swedish Academy which decides the Nobel Prize for Literature said on Friday it would not make the award this year because of a sexual misconduct
A postponement or cancellation of the prestigious prize has not occurred in decades, but the usually secretive Academy acknowledged its reputation had been damaged by allegations against the husband of one of its members and the admission that the names of some prize-winners had been leaked.
“The present decision was arrived at in view of the currently diminished Academy and the reduced public confidence in the Academy,” it said in a statement.
Submit Your Press Release
Get your company news, announcements, launches, appointments and events in front of a wider audience.
The Academy, composed of Sweden’s literary elite, said it aimed to award two prizes in 2019, including the 2018 one.
“We find it necessary to commit time to recovering public confidence in the Academy before the next laureate can be announced,” Anders Olsson, who is interim Permanent Secretary of the Academy, said.
The turmoil caused by sexual allegations against the husband of one of the board members is unprecedented for the Academy, a revered institution established by King Gustav III in 1786 and still under royal patronage.
Though the Academy has courted controversy in the past, for example by awarding the 2016 prize to American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, debate has mainly focused on literary merit rather than the institution itself.
It found itself suddenly at the center of controversy after allegations of sexual harassment and assault were made by 18 women against photographer and cultural figure Jean-Claude Arnault, who is married to Academy member and author Katarina Frostenson.
