The Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 will be awarded to two writers to make up for last year’s postponement of the award. According to the official website of the Nobel Foundation, this autumn laureates for 2018 and 2019 will be announced.
The biggest literary award has never been withheld by the Nobel Foundation since 1949 except in 2018. The award was postponed following allegations of sexual misconduct, financial malpractice and repeated leaks.
In November 2017, the Swedish Academy’s reputation—founded in 1786 by King Gustav III—was deeply damaged when a Swedish newspaper published accusations of sexual misconduct and financial malpractice against Jean-Claude Arnault, a photographer and a leading cultural figure in Sweden.
Following an investigation initiated by the Academy, it was also alleged that he had leaked the names of at least seven Nobel laureates in advance.
In a recent press release issued on March 5, the foundation said:
“During the past year, the Nobel Foundation has had a close dialogue with the Swedish Academy about the problems that arose in late 2017 and early 2018. Several important changes have been implemented since then. The Academy's regulations have been amended, making it possible for members to resign. The statutes have been clarified. Several new members have been elected. The Academy also no longer includes any members who are subject to conflict of interest or criminal investigations.
“Given the situation that has arisen, in order to increase confidence in the Nobel Prize in Literature the Swedish Academy has also approved a new system for its Nobel Committee for the next few years. Five independent external members, who will add valuable new perspectives, will participate in the task of selecting Nobel Laureates. The new committee will submit its own joint proposal for a Nobel Laureate. The Nobel Foundation has also learned that the Swedish Academy has changed the composition of the Nobel Committee so that it no longer includes members who have been associated with the past year's events. The new system is applied to both the 2018 and 2019 prizes.”
