The decision to reinstate the Nobel Prize in Literature comes after a turbulent year of scandals and in-fighting in public among the members of the Swedish Academy. An organization under royal protection, the Swedish Academy has been working closely with the Nobel Foundation’s Board of Directors and the Swedish royal court to address the issues that brought the Academy near the brink of collapse. The issues of conflicts of interest, breaches of confidentiality, and economic misconduct were all brought to the fore when Jean-Claude Arnault, husband of former Academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson and close personal friend of Academy member Horace Engdahl, was accused of sexual assault. Arnault has since then been convicted on two accounts of rape, one of which took place in the Swedish Academy’s apartment in Paris. The Nobel Prize in Literature might be back on track, but we are not out of the woods yet. The agreement between the Nobel Foundation and the Swedish Academy is temporary and will be renegotiated in 2020. Until then, bookies and book publishers alike are once again turning their eyes towards Sweden in anticipation of the answer to the question: Who will win this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature? Let the speculations commence.
Curious to know how we got here? Check out these previous posts on Book Riot.
The Swedish Academy Elects Two New Members. Is the Nobel Prize Back on Track? The Nobel Prize in Literature. Where Do We Go From Here? The Nobel Prize in Literature 2018 Cancelled in the Wake of #MeToo. The Swedish Academy Collapses. Two Additional Members Have Resigned. The Disintegration of the Swedish Academy. Is This the End for the Nobel Prize in Literature?
