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Did Bob Dylan finally acknowledge his Nobel Prize?

The Local Sweden
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Did Bob Dylan finally acknowledge his Nobel Prize?
Books of Dylan's Nobel Prize-winning lyrics. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

The first real sign of Bob Dylan acknowledging his 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature win has been delivered only hours after the Swedish Academy gave up trying to contact him.

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The academy awarded the prize to the elusive songwriter last Thursday – the first time a musician has ever won it – but after five days of unsuccessfully attempting to reach him they decided to give up the chase.

“Right now we are doing nothing. I have called and sent e-mails to his closest collaborators and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough,” the academy’s permanent secretary Sara Danius told Sveriges Radio on Monday.

The new strategy appears to have worked, as later that same day a small but not insignificant update was made to Dylan’s website.

A new post on the site promoting a book containing the writer’s lyrics between 1961 and 2012 also prominently features the heading “WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE” in capital letters.

The hawk-eyed writers at Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet were the first to notice the change, calling it a “sign of life” from the American.

The update is the closest thing to a public statement on the prize from the musician, who has been silent ever since he was made a Nobel Laureate.

He even opted to say nothing during a Las Vegas concert on the same day that the prize announcement was made.

And Swedish Academy permanent secretary Danius is optimistic he will eventually get in touch.

“I’m not at all worried. I have a feeling he will be in touch, it really doesn’t worry me,” she said.

Whether he will come to the annual Nobel award ceremony and banquet in December is a different question.

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