2018 Nobel Prize in Literature cancelled amidst Sexual Assault Scandal

The Swedish Academy on Friday announced that the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature will not be awarded, amidst controversy linking the prize to a man accused of sexual assault, Guardian reports.

Jean-Claude Arnault, a French photographer and the husband of academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson, had in November been accused of sexual assault.

3 members of the 18-person jury had after the accusation resigned, protesting the decision not to expel Frostenson from the jury.

The academy has announced that it will be awarding 2 prizes in 2019, saying:

In view of the currently diminished academy and the reduced public confidence in the academy.

The active members of the Swedish Academy are of course fully aware that the present crisis of confidence places high demands on a long-term and robust work for change.

We find it necessary to commit time to recovering public confidence in the academy before the next laureate can be announced. This is out of respect for previous and future literature laureates, the Nobel Foundation, and the general public.