Thirty-seven authors with novels eligible for the $100,000 Giller Prize withdrew their books from the competition this year.
“As authors, we cannot abide our work being used to provide cover for sponsors actively investing in arms funding and Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians,” reads a letter signed by the authors, part of the CanLit Responds campaign.
“As long as the Giller Foundation continues to receive funding from ANY sponsors who are directly invested in Israel’s occupation of Palestine, it will still be complicit in genocide.”
The lead sponsor, Scotiabank, remains a major investor in Israeli weapons-maker Elbit Systems, though it has reduced its stake under public pressure.
Bookstore giant Indigo, another sponsor, is owned by Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman who also run a charity, HESEG, that donates millions to scholarships for former Israeli lone soldiers.
And Giller sponsor the Azrieli Foundation draws much of its money from the Sonol chain of gas stations in the occupied West Bank.
Former nominees have come out in support of the campaign, along with three past winners: David Bergen (2005 winner for The Time in Between), Omar El Akkad (2021, Such Strange Paradise) and Sarah Bernstein (2023, Study for Obedience).
The winner of the prize will be announced in November. But many of the top books that had the best chance at winning have already pulled out and are on the list below. Show your support for these authors by talking about their books and — most importantly — grabbing a copy.
Rubble Children
Aaron Kreuter
(Jul 2024, University of Alberta Press)
An Ordinary Violence
Adriana Chartrand
(Oct 2023, House of Anansi Press)
The Afterpains
Anna Julia Stainsby
(Mar 2024, Penguin Random House
Canada)
This Country Is No Longer Yours
Avik Jain Chatlani
(May 2024, Doubleday Canada / Bond Street Books)
The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits
Ben Berman Ghan
(May 2024, Wolsak & Wynn)
Code Noir
Canisia Lubrin
(Feb 2024, Knopf)
Behind You
Catherine Hernandez
(May 2024, HarperCollins)
Broughtupsy
Christina Cooke
(Jan 2024, House of Anansi Press)
Wild Houses
Colin Barrett
(Mar 2024, Penguin Random House)
The Lost Cause
Cory Doctorow
(Nov 2023, Tor Books)
The Bezzle
Cory Doctorow
(Feb 2024, Tor Books)
Disobedience
Daniel Sarah Karasik
(May 2024, Book*hug Press)
Your Body Was Made For This
Debbie Bateman
(Oct 2023, Ronsdale Press)
Cicada Summer
Erica McKeen
(Jun 2024, W.W. Norton & Co)
These Songs I Know By Heart
Erin Brubacher
(May 2024, Book*hug Press)
The Beauty of Us
Farzana Doctor
(Sept 2024, ECW Press)
Hi, It’s Me
Fawn Parker
(Sept 2024, McClelland & Stewart)
Mood Swings
Frankie Barnet
(May 2024, McClelland & Stewart)
Who By Fire
Greg Rhyno
(Apr 2024, Cormorant Books)
Widow Fantasies
Hollay Ghadery
(Fall 2024, Gordon Hill Press)
Dry Your Tears to Perfect Your Aim
Jacob Wren
(Sept 2024, Book*hug Press)
Disembark
Jen Currin
(May 2024, House of Anansi Press)
Play
Jess Taylor
(Apr 2024, Bookhug Press)
Bad Houses
John Elizabeth Stintzi
(Sept 2024, Arsenal Pulp Press)
Portrait of a Body
Julie Delporte
(Jan 2024, Drawn & Quarterly)
Indian Winter
Kazim Ali
(May 2024, Coach House Books)
Silver Repetition
Lily Wang
(Feb 2024, House of Anansi Press)
A Dream Wants Waking
Lydia Kwa
(Oct 2023, Wolsak & Wynn)
Hair for Men
Michelle Winters
(Aug 2024, House of Anansi Press)
How It Works Out
Myriam Lacroix
(May 2024, Doubleday Canada)
Supplication
Nour Abi-Nakhoul
(May 2024, Penguin Random House)
All Things Seen and Unseen
RJ McDaniel
(Apr 2024, ECW Press)
On Beauty
rob mclennan
(Aug 2024, University of Alberta Press)
The Cobra and the Key
Sam Shelstad
(Oct 2023, TouchWood Editions)
Batshit Seven
Sheung-King
(Feb 2024, Penguin Random House)
A Horse at the Window
Spencer Gordon
(Jun 2024, House of Anansi Press)
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief
Steven Mayoff
(Oct 2023, Radiant Press)
Bird Suit
Sydney Hegele
(May 2024, Invisible Publishing)
