Writers often get submission calls saying \u201cSorry, we cannot pay you, but our publication is widely distributed. You\u2019ll get great exposure!\u201d I don\u2019t bother, thinking something like \u201cNo, thanks. I live in Manitoba, Canada. We can die of exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
For most, writing isn\u2019t lucrative. If I sell an article, sometimes the cheque covers the grocery bill. Years ago, I decided that I don\u2019t work for free. I avoid residencies and literary submissions with reading fees. Even a well-appointed writer\u2019s residency often costs money for travel, food or lodging. Meanwhile, I pay for utilities and care for my kids, so I write at home. It\u2019s cheaper. Same for reading fees. Although small publications need support, if I pay them to read my submission, it conflicts with my goal to get paid. It\u2019s common sense when trying to make a living.<\/p>\n
In early November, I read Winnipeg Free Press<\/i> editor Ben Sigurdson\u2019s column about writers, books and awards called \u201cPaper Chase.\u201d The headline read \u201cAuthors, artists boycott Israeli cultural orgs.\u201d It summarized a petition signed by \u201cthousands\u201d of writers, listing by name some with Manitoba connections. These writers choose to avoid working with Israeli cultural and literary institutions, publications and festivals because they are ostensibly \u201ccomplicit in violating Palestinian rights.\u201d The petition doesn\u2019t mention Hamas, which governs Gaza. It doesn\u2019t hold Hamas or Egypt accountable for their contributions to the crisis or mention Oct. 7. There\u2019s no reference to the wider global conflict, which includes Iran and Hezbollah, among others.<\/p>\n
By withdrawing their work, these authors want to punish non-political Israeli entities. They assume that, with their great literary fame, they\u2019re important enough that their choice matters. They wish to deprive Israelis of hearing or reading their work. Due to their moral outrage, these authors won\u2019t earn money from Hebrew translation rights, appearances at Israeli universities, conferences, festivals or book signings.<\/p>\n
I noted that Sigurdson\u2019s column removed the name of Jonah Corne, a Jewish University of Manitoba professor, from his list of Manitobans who boycott Israel\u2019s literary scene. I don\u2019t know why he did that.<\/p>\n
Some suggest these protests are against Israel, where half the world\u2019s Jewish population resides, but not against diaspora Jews. Why then leave a Jewish Manitoban off the \u201cnotables\u201d who joined the boycott? Is it a mistake, or a tell? This protest conflates all Jews and Israelis, no matter one\u2019s political beliefs or where one lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Writers fail to look after their own self-interests, be they monetary or ethnic, with this type of activism. Signing a petition could bring an author\u2019s work attention, assuming \u201cany publicity is good publicity.\u201d Yet not all Manitobans on the petition got that dubious editorial publicity. Omitting a Jewish Canadian from the list of Manitobans who signed the boycott smells fishy.<\/p>\n Sigurdson also didn\u2019t mention the long list of authors and creatives who signed a counter-petition by the Creative Community for Peace. This group is against discriminatory cultural boycotts. They support free expression for all. This list includes many recognizable names, from popular and intellectual circles, including Ozzy Osbourne, Mayim Bialik, Bernard-Henri L\u00e9vy and Gene Simmons, among others. Professors, actors, directors, musicians, Pulitzer-winning journalists and Nobel Prize-winning authors populate this list. These creative communicators, against boycotts and for free speech, include Jewish writers, but also allies.<\/p>\n This connects to the commotion about Canada\u2019s Giller Prize. Jack Rabinovitch started this prize in honour of his late wife, the journalist Doris Giller. This award is Canada\u2019s largest literary fiction prize, which comes with $100,000. The prize highlights Canada\u2019s diversity and literary excellence and is sponsored by Scotiabank. It\u2019s now fashionable to protest the prize and Scotiabank\u2019s investment in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. The petition lists others, including Indigo and Audible. Many authors now protest and boycott the jury. Others pull their work from consideration and sign petitions against the Giller via \u201cCanlit Responds.\u201d<\/p>\n The Globe and Mail<\/i>\u2019s Marsha Lederman writes that, if Scotiabank were sufficiently pressured, it might withdraw sponsorship from the prize rather than fully divest from whatever financial investment offends the protesters. No other sponsor would be likely to take on a prize that comes with so much protest baggage. The largest Canadian literary fiction award would disappear. Have these protesting authors thought this through? If the Giller Prize collapses, Canadian fiction authors can no longer benefit from it.<\/p>\n Rabinovitch and Giller were Jewish Canadians. This prize celebrates Canadian literature. In 1972, Giller, as a Montreal Star<\/i> writer, worked as a correspondent in Israel, but this couple lived in Canada. Protesters forget to be grateful. The generosity of this prize and the positive attention it brings Canada\u2019s literary scene shouldn\u2019t be underestimated. Lederman writes that protesters haven\u2019t targeted other large literary awards with financial ties to Israel or many other businesses on the boycott list. Is this protest about financial ties to the Middle Eastern conflict, or is it about bias against Jews, even if they live in Canada?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Practically, writers must make money if they want to work in their field. Publicity for political pet causes might make money from literary appearances, book signings, sales, or translations. But boycotting financial opportunities and suppressing access to books doesn\u2019t help writers support themselves. Many readers support worldwide free expression and won\u2019t purchase the books of those who boycott. Some readers won\u2019t support those who hold Israeli cultural institutions, literary events or citizens responsible for a conflict that spans the Middle East. We don\u2019t hold the Giller Prize, a literary award, responsible for North American political conflicts and policies. Why hold it and Israeli literary institutions responsible for a war started by Hamas and Iran?<\/p>\n In Canada, we celebrate diversity. The 2024 Giller Prize jury writes: \u201cWriters of fiction imagine \u2026 what it means to be another: to be marginalized, to be suppressed, to be guilty \u2013 to be joyful! \u2013 or simply not seen.\u201d Writers remain unseen and marginalized when readers don\u2019t buy or read their work.<\/p>\n Further, Canadians have marginalized Jews, both in Canada and worldwide since Oct. 7, 2023, failing to condemn Hamas or antisemitism. For those who choose boycotts, that \u201cothering\u201d and marginalization of the world\u2019s small Jewish population remains acceptable. Some now believe that, when it comes to the cultural contributions of Jewish Canadians, \u201cnone is too many.\u201d<\/p>\n Cutting communication with the Israeli literary scene threatens Canadian cultural institutions. A political boycott also threatens half the world\u2019s population of Jews, those in Israel. It doesn\u2019t embrace free expression or bring peace. As Lederman suggests, it\u2019s unlikely to help any Palestinians.<\/p>\n Boycotts allow writers to shoot themselves in the foot. Writers can\u2019t pay for essentials when they aren\u2019t paid for their work. Without big awards, even famous writers sometimes can\u2019t pay for groceries. Limiting readership limits income. It\u2019s noteworthy that, while past Giller winners protest, the media hasn\u2019t reported on anyone returning that $100,000 prize.<\/p>\n Choosing diversity means including all Canadians, even Jewish Canadians who create opportunities like the Giller Prize. When it comes to how we behave, cause and effect still matter, even when writing and selling fiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joanne Seiff<\/b> has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Writers often get submission calls saying \u201cSorry, we cannot pay you, but our publication is widely distributed. You\u2019ll get great exposure!\u201d I don\u2019t bother, thinking something like \u201cNo, thanks. I live in Manitoba, Canada. We can die of exposure.\u201d For most, writing isn\u2019t lucrative. 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