The notoriously media-shy Dylan said three weeks ago he would accept the 8 million crown ($870,000) prize, after repeated attempts by the award-giving academy to contact him since it named him as the winner on Oct 13. The Academy said on its website on Wednesday that it had received a letter from Dylan explaining that due to "pre-existing commitments" he was unable to travel to Stockholm in December. "We look forward to Bob Dylan's Nobel Lecture, which he must give – it is the only requirement – within six months counting from December 10," it said in a statement, adding that it would provide additional information on Friday Nov 18. When British novelist Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel literature prize in 2007, she composed a lecture and sent it to her Swedish publisher, who read it out at a ceremony in the Swedish capital. Other Nobel Prize winners who have not attended the prize ceremony include Britain's Harold Pinter and Elfriede Jelinek of Austria.

Source: bd News24 November 16, 2016 17:45 UTC