Odds (4/1) favor Adonis for the Nobel Prize for literature

Nobel prize for literature: place your bets
Here in London it may still feel like it's summer, but autumn begins in earnest this week, with the announcement of the Nobel prize for literature. The Swedish Academy has announced that special pleading, prediction and speculation will come to an end at lunchtime this Thursday.

So is it finally Philp Roth's turn? The much-touted Syrian poet Adonis sits atop the betting at 4/1, with last year's favourite, the Swedish poet Thomas Tranströmer, following at 11/2. The Hungarian novelist Péter Nádas comes next, with the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami close behind – both seem to have important books out this year in Swedish translation. As I write, Philip Roth languishes at 25/1.
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