2018年诺贝尔文学奖没有提名 将颁发另一个奖项

With No Nobel in Literature Named in 2018, a Different Prize To Be Awarded

The Nobel Prize season begins on October 1 with the announcement of the prize for physiology¹ or medicine.

But one award will not be announced this year: the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The Swedish Academy said in May it would not name a literature laureate this year, following accusations² of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing by people connected to the academy.

Anders Olsson, the Academy’s permanent secretary, said at the time that the group needed time to rebuild public trust before choosing the next laureate.

The Swedish Academy will instead name two literature laureates in 2019.

Members of Sweden’s cultural society have come together to create a replacement³ literature award this year. The group released the names of four possible winners of the so-called “New Academy Prize.” The winner will be announced on October 12.

Scandal at the Academy

The scandal that has hit the Swedish Academy involves photographer Jean-Claude Arnault. He is the husband of Swedish Academy member and writer Katarina Frostenson.

At least 18 women have accused Arnault of rape⁴ or sexual assault. Some of the assaults are said to have happened at properties owned by the Swedish Academy.

For many years, Arnault and Frostenson ran an organization in Stockholm that held readings and performances by well-known people, including past Nobel laureates. The Swedish Academy gave money to the organization.

Arnault’s rape trial in Stockholm ended last week. He is now waiting for the court’s decision. He has repeatedly denied all the charges against him.

Arnault has also been accused of leaking the names of literature prize winners before they were announced, including past laureates Bob Dylan and Harold Pinter. The academy operates a highly secretive selection process.

Swedish Academy members found themselves unable to make a decision about Frostenson and Arnault’s future with the academy. This led to strong fighting within the organization. Members insulted each other in media reports.

Three of the 18 members resigned after the academy’s leadership decided⁵ to let Frostenson remain in her position. The academy’s permanent secretary then resigned in protest. Later, Frostenson also left the academy.

A Difference Prize

After the scandal, 100 of Swedish society’s most important cultural members established the New Academy Prize.

Unlike the Swedish Academy, the New Academy’s nomination⁶ process is not secretive. The New Academy asked Swedish librarians to nominate writers for the prize. The public then got to vote for the 47 nominees⁷ that the New Academy received.

Three top vote winners – plus one candidate chosen by literature experts – made up the shortlist of four nominees. They are Britain’s Neil Gaiman, Haruki Murakami of Japan, Canadian Kim Thuy and Maryse Conde of Guadeloupe.

The New Academy required that the shortlist have two women and two men.

Gaiman wrote on Twitter that “winning would not make me any happier than being on that list makes me.”

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However, Murakami said he would not accept the prize. His name was removed from the list.

Most in the literary world agree with the Swedish Academy’s decision to not name a laureate in 2018.

Maria Schottenius, a Swedish literature critic, said, “This is the best decision they could make.” She added that the academy will have a chance to rebuild itself and be ready to award the prize next year.

Nobel Prizes are awarded in science, medicine, literature and peacemaking. Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel provided money for their establishment after his death.

This is the first time since 1949 that the literature award has been delayed. Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize last year.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

laureate – n. someone who has won an important prize or honor for achievement in an art or science

assault - n a violent physical attack

replacement - n. a person or thing that takes the place someone or something else

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

confidence – n. a feeling or belief that someone or something is good or has the ability to succeed at something

librarian - n. someone who works in a library

1 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网