Today (Thursday, October 10, 2019), two Nobel Prizes in literature will be awarded, influenced by the sex scandal that postponed the 2018 ceremony by one year.
Favorites include Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, poet Anne Carson, novelist Maryse Conde, Japanese author Haruki Murakami, and Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
The Swedish Academy, founded in 1786, will make a risk-free choice this year as it seeks to rebuild its image following the year-long scandal that exposed sexual harassment, horrific feuds, conflicts of interest and secrets the 18 members held -tjetrit. These 18 members have lifelong terms and are considered the guardians of culture in the country.
Poet Katarina Frostenson was one of seven members of the academy who left after her husband, Jean-Claude Arnault, was accused of raping her and publicizing the names of the winners seven times. The academy disagreed on how the situation would be managed.
Frostenson and Arnault owned a cultural club in Stockholm that was partially funded by the academy. There, Arnault committed some of the crimes. He is currently in prison, convicted of rape.
Since then, the academy has made changes that promise to improve transparency. Members are now allowed to resign, which they could not do before. Seven new members have also been appointed, and respected literature professor Mats Malm has assumed the post of permanent secretary, previously held by Sara Danius.
It is almost certain that one of the winners will be a woman, with Polish writers Olga Tokarczuk and Hanna Krall, South Korea's Han Kang, American Joyce Carol Oates and Russian novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya named as favorites this year. Since 1901, only 14 of 114 laureates have been women.
