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STOCKHOLM — The Swedish Academy doesn’t reveal well in advance the date it will announce the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, but brokers expect a successor to last year’s winner, Patrick Modiano of France, will be named on a Thursday, possibly Oct. 15.

 While keeping cards close to its chest, the Swedish Academy has distilled some information about this year’s entries, fueling talk in literary circles and helping feed bookie charts.

 The academy received 259 proposals from publishing houses, literary societies and universities, according to Peter Englund, who stepped down as the body’s permanent secretary in May. Members first retained 198 names — including 36 authors who had never been proposed before — and gradually shortened the list down to five this summer, Mr. Englund said.

 Here are the names currently topping the charts of U.K.-based bookmaker Ladbrokes: