Two Nobel Prizes for literature to be awarded in 2019 after 2018's was postponed

Two Nobel Prizes for literature will be awarded later this year after the Swedish Academy overhauled its operations in the wake of a sex scandal that prevented it from awarding a prize in 2018. The Nobel Foundation's board said the academy has made a number of changes, making it possible for members to resign, clarifying its statutes and adding new members. "The Academy also no longer includes any members who are subject to conflict of interest or criminal investigations," it said in a statement Tuesday. Going forward, the academy will appoint five independent external members who will participate in the task of selecting Nobel laureates. "The Academy has now also undertaken to investigate the issue of how expulsion cases should be handled in the future," said the statement. "Furthermore, the Academy is studying the potential for introducing some form of time limitation on membership, in order to simplify ongoing future reforms in its activities while ensuring continued suitable competency and work capacity." The most recent winner of the Nobel Prize for literature was Japanese-British writer Kazuo Ishiguro in 2018.

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