Announcement for 2018 Literature Nobel Prize laureate deferred

A sex abuse scandal is sidelining this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, and this year’s laureate will be announced in 2019.

Six members of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prestigious prize, have stepped down as allegations swirl around Jean-Claude Arnault, a leading cultural figure in Sweden and the husband of an ex-Academy member. He faces multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment, including inappropriately touching Sweden’s Crown Princess a decade ago.

The postponement does not affect the other Nobel prizes. The prize hasn’t been postponed since the height of World War II.

Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group behind the Academy Awards, has kicked out Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski.

Cosby was convicted last week of three counts of indecent assault. Polanski fled the United States 40 years ago after being charged with the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.