Bob Dylan will not attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm on December 10 to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Associated Press reports. According to the AP, the Swedish Academy said that “he wishes he could receive the prize personally, but other commitments make it unfortunately impossible.” Dylan broke the news to the Academy in a personal letter, according to a press release.

In the press release, the Academy wrote, “We look forward to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture, which he must give – it is the only requirement – within six months counting from December 10, 2016.”

They added, “That laureates decide not to come is unusual, to be sure, but not exceptional. In the recent past, several laureates have, for various reasons, been unable to come to Stockholm to receive the prize, among them Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter, and Elfriede Jelinek. The prize still belongs to them, just as it belongs to Bob Dylan.”

Update (11/18, 10:23 a.m. Eastern): The Swedish Academy has released a statement on Dylan’s potential Nobel Lecture. Read it below.

The Swedish Academy has decided not to organize an alternative plan for the Nobel Lecture traditionally held on December 7. There is a chance that Bob Dylan will be performing in Stockholm next year, possibly in the spring, in which case he will have a perfect opportunity to deliver his lecture. We will post more information as soon as we have it.

Dylan’s Nobel win was announced in mid-October, but it took an unusually long time for Dylan to respond and finally accept his prize. Before that, it was reported Dylan was not returning the Nobel committee’s calls and emails.

Read the op-ed “The World Does Not Need Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize Winner in Literature” on the Pitch.