Nobel literature body expands prize jury after sex assault scandal

Venerable institution has been in crisis mode since Nov 2017, after rift emerged among Academy members about how to manage its longstanding ties to a Frenchman accused and now convicted of rape

The Swedish Academy, which has awarded the Nobel Literature Prize since 1901, said on Monday it would expand its prize jury to include outsiders for the first time following a scandal that forced it to postpone this year’s award.

The venerable institution has been in crisis mode since November 2017, after a deep rift emerged among Academy members about how to manage its longstanding ties to a Frenchman accused — and now convicted — of rape.

For the first time in 70 years, the Academy postponed this year's literature prize by a year while it attempts to sort