Four finalists for The New Academy Prize in Literature 2018 – the world has voted.

With help from the Swedish librarians and literature fans all over the world, a new literary prize will be presented this Fall. The New Academy Prize in Literature is a grass roots initiative which has grown to a global movement. Today the four finalists for the prize are presented, voted by the world: Haruki Murakami, Kim Thúy, Maryse Condé och Neil Gaiman. An expert jury will select the final laureate.

The New Academy was formed when The Swedish Academy announced that there will not be a Nobel Prize in Literature this year. Scandals, schemes and defections have shaken the august sphere to the extent that it is not fit to administer the Nobel Prize.

The New Academy's objective is to secure an international literary prize in 2018 and also to remind the world that literature should be associated with democracy, openness and respect.

The New Academy Prize in Literature 2018 has an open and democratic format and the laureate is selected in three steps. Initially the Swedish librarians were invited to nominate authors for the prize. Then an open vote was held where the whole world was invited to cast its votes. More than 30 000 people have voted and four finalists are presented. In the final run, an expert jury will review their work and select a winner.

It is an honor to present the four finalists for The New Academy Prize in Literature 2018:
Haruki Murakami, www.harukimurakami.com
Kim Thúy, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/128750/kim-thuy
Maryse Condé, https://french.columbia.edu/content/maryse-conde
Neil Gaiman, www.neilgaiman.com

The expert jury consists of Lisbeth Larsson, Professor of Literature Göteborg University, Peter Stenson, Editor, critic and translator, Gunilla Sandin, Head of Library, former program director Göteborg Book Fair and Ann Pålsson, editor and independent publisher – president of the jury.
More about the jury: https://www.dennyaakademien.com/jury

Today more than one hundred people are working non-profit to raise funds for the prize, promote it and manage the event with the prize ceremony.

– A huge thank you to everyone in the world who has been a part of this movement for literature! Now we need an even more intense rallying and all the support we can get to create a memorable prize event. We need to raise funds for the prize money and for the ceremony. There is still a long way to go before we reach our goal and make history, says the initiator, Alexandra Pascalidou.

The laureate will be announced at Stockholm City Library on October 12th. And the prize will be presented at a grand ceremony in Stockholm mid-December.

Press contact: press@dennyaakademien.com