Days after they awarded him their prestigious annual prize for literature, the Nobel committee has admitted they have given up trying to contact Bob Dylan.

The Swedish academy’s permanent secretary, Sara Danius, told the national broadcaster’s SR radio station on Monday (October 17th) that Dylan hadn’t said yes to any of the e-mails or telephone calls they had made, despite "friendly" responses, in order to ascertain whether he’ll be able to attend the awards ceremony in December.

“Right now we are doing nothing. I have called and sent e-mails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough,” Danius confirmed.

Bob DylanBob Dylan has not yet publicly acknowledged his Nobel Prize for literature

The American singer, 75, became the first songwriter in the history of the Nobel prize to win the literature award. However, since the announcement was made last Thursday, Dylan has responded with silence, not even mentioning it when he played a concert in Las Vegas the very same evening.

In a career spanning six decades, 37 studio albums, countless bootlegs and a handful of novels and poetry collections, Dylan has always forged his own path and done as he pleases when it comes to his career and others’ perceptions of him. However, many interpet this attitude as bloody-mindedness on his part.

Every year on December 10th, Nobel prize winners from every field are invited to the Swedish capital of Stockholm for a banquet, during which they receive their award from King Carl XVI Gustaf and to give a speech.

“I am not at all worried,” continued Danius. “I think he will show up. If he doesn’t want to come, he won’t come. It will be a big party in any case and the honour belongs to him.”

Reactions have been divided as to Dylan being the recipient of the prestigious prize, with many writers arguing that his lyrics don’t have the same literary merit as some of his peers. Making a reference to American snack company Mrs Fields, Lebanese writer Rabih Alameddine scathingly wrote on Twitter: “Bob Dylan winning a Nobel in Literature is like Mrs Fields being awarded 3 Michelin stars.”

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