Nobel Literature Prize: After the Bob Dylan fiasco, who’s next?

A Kenyan playwright, a Japanese author, a Canadian superstar and an Israeli giant are the frontrunners for the Nobel Literature Prize.

After stepping into its first big controversy last year by choosing Bob Dylan, the Swedish Academy is again in charge of picking a laureate who has "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".

While bookies share their odds, literary critics and scholars wonder if Dylan’s successor will be a more orthodox winner to preserve the academy’s reputation, or someone even more disruptive.

Last year, the singer-songwriter refused to comment on his win for weeks, and then snubbed the formal prize ceremony in Stockholm.

"What happened last year was really unusual. This year I think it’ll be a male novelist or essayist with roots in Europe. I think it’s going to be the exact opposite of Bob Dylan," said Swedish critic Bjorn Wiman.

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According to most betting websites, the frontrunner this year is Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a playwright and author whose works touch topics of British colonialism.

Ngugi’s books are political and disruptive. In the past, he has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize – and he was also a finalist of the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

A teacher and former student at Yale University, his debut book Weep Not, Child was the first English-language novel published by an East African writer.

Following closely on both Ladbrokes and Unibet is Haruki Murakami, the celebrated Japanese author who wrote Norwegian Wood and Kafka On The Shore.

Translated in over 50 languages, Murakami is considered a relatively mainstream author with several awards bagged already.

The third favourite is Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist who should take credit for the success of streaming service Hulu.

Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel which was picked up by Bruce Miller and turned into a huge commercial success – having dominated this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards.

If anything, it is Atwood’s recent commercial success which may harm her odds.

And then there is Amos Oz, the Israeli giant, at number four.

Oz has won a long list of prizes and is widely considered one of the most gifted writers still alive.

With 14 books published, he has also seen his work adapted to the screen, with Natalie Portman directing and starring in A Tale Of Love And Darkness in 2015 – a story that focuses on Oz’s youth in Israel.

Further down the line but also tipped as possible winners are big names such as John Le Carre, the British spy novelist who just published a new thriller, Irish PEN Award recipient Colm Toibin and Philip Roth, who many think has been due the prize for some time now.

Bjorn Wiman thinks Antonio Lobo Antunes of Portugal and Albania’s Ismail Kadare also stand a good chance.

He said: "Everyone will think ‘ah, of course they deserve the prize’, and there’ll be no objection."

The next Nobel Literature Prize winner will be announced on 5 October.

(c) Sky News 2017: Nobel Literature Prize: After the Bob Dylan fiasco, who’s next?