The Swedish Academy will announce on Friday whether it will postpone the announcement of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature winner, following controversies triggered by alleged sexual harassment, as well as the premature leaking of the winner’s name to the public.
It is very rare for the Nobel Prize not to be awarded or postponed. The last time this happened with the literature prize was in 1943 during World War II.
“We will make a decision that will be announced tomorrow around 9 a.m.,” said committee official Louise Hedberg.
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The date of this year’s announcement is still unknown, although winners are usually announced in the first half of October.
The Swedish Academy has been hit by a scandal due to the sexual harassment case involving the husband of one of its members, as well as cases where the names of some winners were leaked to the public in advance. The head of the academy resigned due to the sexual scandal, as did the wife of the accused. Several other members of the academy have also stepped down.
The Swedish Academy admitted last month that the names of some previous award winners had leaked to the public in advance and promised to revise its old rules because of this. It also stated that it was unaware of the unacceptable sexual behavior of a man married to one of its members.
