The Swedish Academy announced Friday that the prize was postponed.
Officials are closing the book on this year’s prize for literature after a sex scandal engulfed the decision committee.
The Swedish Academy, which normally picks the winner, announced Friday that no award will be given for 2018 after a wave of judges back away from the panel because of another member.
Jean-Claude Arnault, the husband of Academy member Katarina Frostenson, has been accused of repeated sexual harassment, including groping a Swedish princess, as well as leaking the names of prize winners.
He denies the allegations, though reports about his alleged behavior led six members of the Academy’s 18-person committee, who can’t resign, to stop participating.
A Nobel Foundation statement said that though the award is designed to be given each year, it can be postponed when « a situation in a prize-awarding institution arises that is so serious that a prize decision will not be perceived as credible. »
The prize for 2018 will be awarded next year, as well as the award for 2019.
The last time the prize was not awarded was in 1943 during World War II.
Last year’s winner was British author Kazuo Ishiguro, following songwriting legend Bob Dylan the year before.
Who would have won the 2018 prize, normally announced in October, will never be known, though recent authors tipped as having good odds in recent years include Canadian Margaret Atwood, Kenyan Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and American Don DeLillo.
The Nobel prizes for other disciplines including the Nobel Peace Prize, for which Republicans nominated President Trump over his North Korea stances, are awarded by different institutions and will not be affected.
