Posted on September 17, 2018 at 10:09 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Novelist Haruki Murakami has taken himself out of the competition for the alternate Nobel Prize for Literature.

The New Academy, which is administering the prize, said in a statement Saturday that the Japanese writer expressed gratitude for being nominated, but asked to withdraw so that he could focus on writing.

Murakami has won a number of prizes worldwide, and his work has been translated into over fifty languages.

The remaining contestants are Maryse Condé, Kim Thuy, and Neil Gaiman, from whom a winner will be selected October 12.

The New Academy formed this summer for the sole purpose of giving out an alternative to the Nobel Prize for Literature, which was canceled this year over rape allegations.

It will dissolve on December 11, the day after it hands out its prize.

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Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Awards, Contests, Scandal

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