Nobel prize for literature tipped to make safe pick after years of scandal

Having been postponed in 2018, last year’s return drew heavy fire for the selection of Peter Handke, so experts expect a cautious choice this week

Jamaica Kincaid and Anne Carson have been tipped as possible winners of this week’s Nobel prize for literature, with the secretive jury expected to play it safe in the wake of three years of controversy.

The Nobel, which sees itself as the world’s pre-eminent literary award, will be awarded on Thursday afternoon. Names tipped at the bookies include Maryse Condé – the Guadeloupean novelist who won an “alternative” Nobel in 2018 – Russian novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Japanese bestseller Haruki Murakami, Canadian author Margaret Atwood and perennial contender Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the Kenyan novelist, poet and playwright. Observers have also speculated that the jury could be looking closely at the work of Antiguan-American writer Kincaid and Canadian poet Carson.

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