Haruki Murakami Removes Himself From Contention For ‘Alternative Nobel’

The Japanese novelist was, along with Neil Gaiman, Maryse Condé and Kim Thúy, one of four finalists for the New Academy Prize, organized in Sweden after the scandal-plagued Swedish Academy postponed this year’s Nobel for literature. But Murakami, often mentioned as a contender for the Nobel itself, withdrew from consideration, saying, according to organizers, that “his preference is to concentrate on his writing, away from media attention.”