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The New Academy: an alternative to the Nobel Prize for Literature

By August 30, 2018Literary Awards, News

The Swedish Academy cancelled this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature following a sexual misconduct furore. 

The last time the prize was cancelled was back in 1943 while everyone was a little distracted by World War II but this time it has been decided that an alternative prize should be offered.

Over 100 Swedish journalists, writers and important cultural figures temporarily formed the New Academy to honour literary greats with a new prize this Autumn. In a statement, the New Academy have explained:

“We have founded the New Academy to remind people that literature and culture at large should promote democracy, transparency, empathy and respect, without privilege, bias arrogance or sexism.

In a time when human values are increasingly being called into question, literature becomes an even more important counterforce to stop the culture of silence and oppression.

The New Academy regards this as so important that the world’s greatest literature prize should still be awarded in 2018.”




Every Swedish librarian had been invited to nominate their favourite contemporary author. Nominees could be any nationality and must have written a minimum of two books, with at least one published in the last decade. Rather than seeking out a book as described in Alfred Nobel’s will, “the most outstanding work in an ideal direction”, they were looking for a story that tells of “humans in the world” in an attempt to broaden representation and further equality.

The nominees were then offered to the public who voted for their favourite- the final four of whom have been put before the New Academy jury, headed by editor Ann Pålsson. Pålsson is joined by Gothenburg University professor Lisbeth Larsson and librarian Gunilla Sandin.

The jury must decide between these four publicly-voted writers: Haruki Murakami of Japan; Vietnamese-Canadian writer Kim Thúy; Maryse Condé of Guadeloupe; and British author Neil Gaiman who is based in the USA.

They will announce the winner on October 12th 2018 and once the winner has been formally presented with their award in December, theNew Academy will be dissolved.

It is still expected that the Swedish Academy will announce two Nobel winners in 2019.

The Four Shortlisted Nominees and their Selected Works




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