STOCKHOLM, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish Academy announced Friday that it would not hand out the Nobel Prize in Literature this year.

It plans to award double prizes next year, the institute said in a press release.

"We have decided not to award a prize after long and intense discussions. The global confidence is so low (in the Swedish Academy)and ... we plan to award the prize next year and hopefully then a double prize," the academy's acting chief Anders Olsson told Swedish TT News Agency.

A similar situation has occurred before, said Olsson, referring to the practice of postponing the award ceremony, usually held annually, to the next year.