Three members quit Swedish Academy as row splits Nobel Prize-awarding body

The Nobel Foundation on Wednesday warned that the international reputation of the Nobel Prize may be at stake after a series of rows that have rocked the Swedish Academy, the body that awards the Nobel Prize in literature.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Nobel Foundation stated that its board members had met to discuss the latest developments, which includes three Academy members announcing on Friday that they would step down -- a move that has shocked the literary and cultural world, reports Xinhua.

"It is unavoidable that a difficult crisis within a prize-awarding institution also damages the Nobel Prize's reputation. We can establish that confidence in the Swedish Academy has been severely broken. The way in which what is now happening will come to harm the Nobel Prize cannot yet be fully assessed," the statement said.