Why is the Nobel Prize for Literature cancelled?

Jean-Claude Arnault

As Nobel Prize winners are announced this week, there has been one notable exception. In May, the Swedish Academy, the exclusive and secretive body that awards the Nobel Prize for Literature, announced that it would not be naming a laureate in 2018. Instead, two winners will be announced in 2019.

The dramatic decision came after the academy was engulfed in a scandal involving sexual assault and financial misconduct. It’s a controversy that sorely tarnished the credibility of one of the world’s most exalted cultural institutions.

What were the allegations against Arnault?

At the root of the scandal was a series of allegations made against Jean-Claude Arnault — the husband of academy member Katarina Frostenson, and a titanic figure in Sweden’s arts community. Last November, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published the testimonies of 18 women alleging cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment committed by Arnault over a period spanning two decades. This week, Arnault was convicted of rape by a Stockholm court and sentenced to two years in prison concerning a separate incident in 2011.

Although Arnault was not a member, his close proximity to the academy inadvertently embroiled the organisation in the growing scandal. Arnault and Frostenson jointly ran Forum — an elite cultural club known for its poetry readings performance art which received subsidies from the Academy. Several women in the Dagens Nyheter story alleged they were assaulted at Forum, or other properties owned by the Academy in Sweden and France. Amidst concerns about conflict of interest, the Academy hired a law firm to investigate the relationship, and discovered evidence of “financial irregularities“. 

Further reporting dredged up an internal investigation, which suggested that Arnault, who grandiosely referred to himself as the academy’s “19th member” had possibly leaked the names of past winners ahead of the official announcement, including Bob Dylan in 2016. Such leaks are hugely damaging to the reputation of the academy, which holds its deliberations in an environment of intense opacity. 

What happened after the Arnault scandal?

The Swedish Academy, which was founded by King Carl Gustav III in 1786, was torn apart by the Arnault affair. The academy’s refusal to expel Frostenson triggered a nasty public feud, played out in the pages of Sweden’s newspapers, which led to three members resigning.

Finally, Sara Danius, the first woman to lead the once male-dominated body also stepped down. That a woman at the helm of a traditionally stuffy, patriarchal and cloistered institution should be forced to take the fall for a scandal that began with a man’s sexual misconduct led to even greater outcry.

Protesters (mostly women) congregated outside the academy’s headquarters in Stockholm. More members resigned, leaving the academy’s membership reduced to 10 people — two less than the minimum required to appoint new members under its rules. The academy needed royal intervention to survive, with King Carl Gustaf XVI using his authority to amend the rules. 

With a deeply divided and depleted membership, the Academy finally announced its decision to postpone the prize for the first time since 1949. A year, however, may not be enough time for the Academy to piece together its shredded public image. 

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.