Swedish Academy postpones awarding of Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 to 2019, Nobel Foundation supports decision

The Swedish Academy, on Thursday, decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019.

Even though the Swedish Academy is responsible for choosing the winner in the Literature category, the Foundation in its release said, "According to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. During the past several weeks, we have pursued a continuous dialogue with the Swedish Academy, and we support Thursday’s decision."

The Swedish Academy's decision came in the wake of a scandal over sexual assault allegations against the husband of a member and the Academy's handling of the same, according to media reports.

Divisions started to emerge last November when French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, who ran a cultural project with funding from the Swedish Academy, was accused by 18 women of sexual assault, reported The BBC..

However, Arnault denied the allegations, media reported.

The Foundation in its release said, "The crisis in the Swedish Academy has adversely affected the Nobel Prize. Their decision underscores the seriousness of the situation and will help safeguard the long-term reputation of the Nobel Prize. None of this impacts the awarding of the 2018 Nobel Prizes in other prize categories."

"The Nobel Foundation presumes that the Swedish Academy will now put all its efforts into the task of restoring its credibility as a prize-awarding institution and that the Academy will report the concrete actions that are undertaken. We also assume that all members of the Academy realise that both its extensive reform efforts and its future organisational structure must be characterised by greater openness towards the outside world," the release said.

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded first in 1901. The prize was not awarded for six years during the world wars and in 1935, the only instance when no suitable candidate was found.