By Christina Anderson and Palko Karasz

The Nobel Prize in Literature always draws great interest， but the organization behind the prestigious award finds itself in the throes of a high-profile crisis so severe that it has decided not to pick a winner this year.1

The award will be postponed until next year， when the academy will name laureates2.

The Swedish Academy， the Stockholm-based organization that awards the prize， is struggling to cope with a situation completely at odds with its reputation as a distinguished advocate of literary excellence.

With its echoes of the #MeToo movement， the scandal has prompted the intervention of the Swedish king to deal with its multifaceted nature—allegations of sexual harassment， the suggestion that women were taking the fall for the misdeeds of men， and the departure of several board members.3

This will be the first time since World War II that the prize is withheld.（The decision will not affect the other Nobel Prizes， which are chosen by other institutions.）

How did a scandal grow to overshadow4 the academy and postpone the prize？

How did the crisis start？

The Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported last November that 18 women had accused the French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault of sexual assault or harassment. Mr. Arnault also ran Forum， a popular cultural venue in Stockholm that received support from the academy.

Mr. Arnault co-owns the club with his wife， Katarina Frostenson， a poet and a member of the academy.

The paper reported that Mr. Arnault had been accused over more than 20 years of mistreating women in properties that the academy owns in Paris and Stockholm.

According to news reports in Sweden， the victims included the Crown Princess Victoria， who said she was inappropriately touched by Mr. Arnault at an academy event.

Why did members start quitting？

Sara Danius， a literary scholar and the first woman to lead the Swedish Academy， was forced out in mid-April after she severed5 the ties between the organization and Mr. Arnault and Forum. She also hired a law firm late last year to investigate the academys ties with Mr. Arnault.

That came a week after three other members of the academy had walked out over the handling of the allegations of assault and harassment as well as the law firms findings， creating a Nobel-related crisis without precedent.

The ouster6 of Ms. Danius prompted an outpouring of support， regarded by many as a case example of a woman taking the fall for a mans bad behavior.

The day after her removal， several public figures—including Swedens minister for enterprise and innovation， Mikael Damberg—dressed in Ms. Daniuss signature pussy-bow7 blouse and posted selfies on social media in a show of support.

Whos left in the academy？

The Academy now has 10 active members instead of the full 18.

Members are elected for life， and there is no provision that allows them to resign. Under the current rules， the seats of members who quit will remain unfilled until their deaths.

King Carl XVI Gustaf， the patron of the Swedish Academy， has proposed changing the rules to allow members to leave voluntarily.

The board now finds itself in a curious predicament： Even if it could vote in new members to replace those who quit， it is short of the 12-member quorum required for their approval.8

Could the academy have picked a Nobel Prize winner？

Eight voting members are needed to pick a laureate with a simple majority. But the Nobel goes beyond the numbers.

“They need to also convince the world that they are actually doing hard， serious work on picking a suitable candidate for the prize，” Mads Rosendahl Thomsen， a professor of comparative literature at the University of Aarhus in Denmark， said before the announcement.

In other words， the credibility of the prize is at stake. The literature prize， which is awarded to one of around 200 nominees， often baffles and provokes， but it confers instant status on the recipient.

“The Nobel Foundation presumes that the Swedish Academy will now put all its efforts into the task of restoring its credibility as a prizeawarding institution，” the foundation working on executing Alfred Nobels will said in a statement.

Members of the academy usually decide on a shortlist of five finalists in May， and then have all summer to dive deep into9 the authors works.

To many observers， like Bj？rn Wiman， culture editor of Dagens Nyheter， which broke the news of allegations against Mr. Arnault， taking a break is the right thing to do.