Neil Gaiman and Haruki Murakami up for alternative Nobel literature prize

The New Academy, founded after the 2018 prize was cancelled as a result of sexual assault scandal, announces shortlist of four

While the scandal-ridden Swedish Academy searches its soul after the cancellation of this year’s Nobel prize for literature, a replacement award set up by a host of Swedish cultural figures has unveiled a shortlist that includes British fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman and Japanese literary superstar Haruki Murakami.

The New Academy prize in literature was established after the scandal that rocked the Swedish Academy this year, when the husband of one of its members was accused of sexual assault and this year’s Nobel subsequently suspended due to “reduced public confidence”. The alternative Nobel follows the same schedule as the original award, but rather than a secretive and small panel selecting the winner, the New Academy – made up of more than 100 Swedish cultural figures – asked Sweden’s librarians for nominations.

Related: The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize – podcast

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