The Nobel Prize in Literature may seem like an unlikely thing to cause scandal, but lo and behold the insults and drama!

The Swedish Academy announced that the winner of the world’s top literary award (worth 10 million crowns!) will be named on Thursday, even as one of its members quit in outraged disgust at last year’s winner.

Reuters reports that in a signed newspaper article, Knut Ahnlund resigned from the Academy, saying that giving the prize to Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek “caused irreparable harm to the value of the award for the foreseeable future.”

He blasted Jelinek’s writing as “whingeing, unenjoyable, violent pornography.” Then he went on to declare, “After this I cannot even formally remain in the Swedish Academy.” There has been no response from Jelinek.

Although Ahnlund didn’t explain why he waited a year to voice his criticism, Academy head Horace Engdahl suggested the whole thing was timed to spoil this year’s events.

Engdahl told TT news agency that Ahnlund wasn’t even privy to the Jelinek prize debate. “He knows nothing about the discussion that led to the choice of Elfriede Jelinek so what he says in this article of his must be seen as empty speculation.” Oh snap.

Unlike with its brethren Nobels, the date of the literature award is kept secret until just two days beforehand. It’s usually on one of the first two Thursdays in October. The official website (www.nobelprize.org) says the winner will be announced this Thursday at 1 p.m., at the earliest.

There has been speculation that the 18 Academy members were split, with a British paper reporting that the divisive choice was Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, but the Academy has awarded the prize since 1901 and never leaks its shortlist.






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