Academy faces pressure to diversify an award long dominated by Western men. With no public shortlist and deliberations sealed for 50 years, Stockholm's literary circles are guessing frantically. Antiguan-American author Jamaica Kincaid, 77, whose work explores Caribbean culture, family, identity, colonialism and race, is frequently mentioned. "It's about time for Jamaica Kincaid to get it", said Expressen critic Victor Malm, while Dagens Nyheter's Bjorn Wiman called her 1990 novel Lucy the kind of book where "three lines" reveal a Nobel laureate. A win could also read politically, given her fierce criticism of Donald Trump. China's Can Xue, whose avant-garde writing is compared to Kafka's, is another contender. Hungary's Laszlo Krasznahorkai won last year - a male central European, familiar Nobel territory the Academy should "distance itself" from, Wiman said. Only 18 of 122 laureates have been women, with few writing in Asian or Middle Eastern languages and none in African languages. After a 2018 sex assault scandal reshaped the Academy, every other literature laureate has been a woman, making another female winner likely - though the Academy insists only quality matters. SR critic Lina Kalmteg wants a Latin American Spanish-language author, noting a "Latin American literary miracle" led by women. Argentine Samanta Schweblin, 48, would be interesting but is "surely still too young". Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa was the last South American honoured, in 2010. Other regularly mentioned names: Australia's Gerald Murnane, Alexis Wright, Thomas Pynchon, Cristina Rivera Garza, Jenny Erpenbeck and Duong Thu Huong. The winner receives $1.2 million, a gold medal and a diploma. (Bssnews)