Swedish Academy

The Swedish Academy is an institution of major significance for Swedish and even international culture. In addition to the Nobel Prize in Literature, a large number of prizes and stipends are awarded by the Academy to authors, translators, literature and language scholars, teachers, librarians and others in Sweden and the Nordic area. The Academy g... ives grants to cultural programmes and organises and finances important major lexicographical projects. The Academy also contributes in other ways to the study and nurture of the Swedish language. The reputation of the Nobel Prize in Literature has suffered greatly from the publicity surrounding the Academy's crisis. We need to address the issue of legitimacy with utmost rigour. We want to emphasise that the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee - the working group that prepares the prize colloquium and submits recommendations before the decision is reached - is intact and has conducted its work this spring in the usual fashion. The active members of the Swedish Academy recognise that the above account of the present situation and the actions we have taken and will take represent only a first step, and that the process ahead will pose increased demands on everyone. All changes cannot be effected at once, some will need further study and discussion. The work of change is begun and will proceed in close dialogue with the community.Read More