Dinaw Mengestu says there is opposition within the Canadian literary community toward the prestigious award because of a Scotiabank subsidiary’s stake in Israel-based Elbit Systems
A protester films herself as she interrupts the Scotiabank Giller Prize in Toronto, on Nov. 13, 2023. That Giller officials have not publicly addressed the title sponsorship of the $100,000 prize apart from an initial response the day after the protests is problematic, according to juror Dinaw Mengestu.
The annual Giller Prize for Canadian novels and short stories was created in 1994 by Montreal businessman Jack Rabinovitch. Scotiabank has been the Giller Prize’s corporate title sponsor since 2005. That Giller officials have not publicly addressed the title sponsorship of the $100,000 prize since then is problematic, according to Mr. Mengestu. He is the director of the Center for Ethics and Writing at Bard College in upstate New York and vice-president of PEN America, which champions the freedom to write.
The Montreal-born, Scotland-based author said that while it was a “difficult decision” to pull out of her Giller Book Club event, she was told that questions from the audience in reference to Palestinians or related protests “might be censored.”
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