As you may have heard, 2018 Nobel Prize for literature has been cancelled by the Swedish Academy following sexual assault allegations and resignations of members. More than 100 prominent cultural figures from Sweden have formed the New Academy and will present their own literary award while Swedish Academy is sorting itself out. In contrast to the Nobel prize, which seeks to honour the writer who has contributed ‘the most outstanding work in an ideal direction’, the new award will be offered to a writer who has told the story of ‘humans in the world’. The New Academy invited Swedish librarians to nominate authors who fit the eligibility criteria. 47 authors were nominated and the four finalists were decided by public vote. Winner will be announced in October after deliberation by the jury. In December the New Academy will be dissolved and 2 laureates will be nominated by the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize in literature in 2019.
The four nominees are:
Maryse Conde Haruki Murakami