No Nobel Prize in Literature This Year

The Swedish Academy will not award a Nobel Prize in literature this year because of a crisis over sexual abuse allegations against a photographer with close ties to the academy, The New York Times reported.

A Swedish newspaper reported in November that 18 women have accused the photographer, Jean-Claude Arnault, of sexual harassment or assault, and other allegations have come out since. Arnault -- who has denied the allegations against him -- is married to Katarina Frostenson, a member of the academy, and is a close friend of other members. Some members of the 18-member academy charged with selecting the Nobel Prize in Literature have quit to protest Frostenson’s continued membership, while others quit to protest the dismissal of the academy’s permanent secretary -- the first woman to hold the position -- after she severed the group’s ties to Arnault and commissioned an investigation.

The Swedish Academy said it would postpone awarding of the 2018 prize until next year, at which point it will name two winners.