The group of authors in contention for this year香蕉视频直播檚 $100,000 Giller Prize has been whittled down to 12, but one name is notably absent from the list: Scotiabank.

The big bank remains the lead sponsor of the award, but its name has been removed from the prize title, Elana Rabinovitch, executive director of the Giller Foundation said Wednesday.

The rebranding comes after protesters disrupted 2023香蕉视频直播檚 ceremony to decry the bank香蕉视频直播檚 investment in an Israeli weapons manufacturer.

香蕉视频直播淯ltimately, more than ever, we want to ensure the prize stays true to its purpose: to celebrate the best in Canadian fiction and to give the stage to Canada香蕉视频直播檚 best storytellers,香蕉视频直播� Rabinovitch said in an email. 香蕉视频直播淔or us, that means ensuring the focus remains solely on the prize and the art itself.香蕉视频直播�

In the months since last year香蕉视频直播檚 protest, members of the literary community have pushed for the Giller Foundation to end its 20-year partnership with Scotiabank, as well as financial relationships with other sponsors they say have ties to Israel香蕉视频直播檚 army.

That includes Indigo, whose CEO Heather Reisman is the founder of Hesig Foundation, which offers funding to so-called lone soldiers 香蕉视频直播� people who join the Israeli Defense Forces despite not having family in the country.

The two international judges on this year香蕉视频直播檚 five-member jury resigned from their positions in July and numerous authors 香蕉视频直播� including past prize contenders 香蕉视频直播� withdrew their names from consideration for the award.

Jody Chan, a poet and organizer with CanLit Responds, the group issuing the calls to the Giller, said removing Scotiabank香蕉视频直播檚 name from the prize does not address the writers香蕉视频直播� concerns.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 very in line with how the Giller has been responding to authors over the past many months, trying to ride out the bad publicity and sweeping authors香蕉视频直播� demands under the rug instead of directly responding to them,香蕉视频直播� they said.

Chan added that while Rabinovitch said the focus should be on the authors and their art, the writers who signed a joint letter to the Giller Foundation want people to focus on the 40,000 Palestinians killed in Israel香蕉视频直播檚 attack on Gaza.

Likewise, Avik Jain Chatlani, author of 香蕉视频直播淭his Country is No Longer Yours香蕉视频直播� and a signatory of the letter, said focusing on art is not inherently virtuous.

香蕉视频直播淎rt is like exercise. You can do it; it can make you feel better; it香蕉视频直播檚 good for you. It doesn香蕉视频直播檛 necessarily make you more decent,香蕉视频直播� he said.

Caring about other people is what makes you more decent, and by continuing to accept funding from organizations with financial ties to the Israeli army, the Giller is failing in that regard, he said.

While Jain Chatlani doesn香蕉视频直播檛 expect the Giller Foundation to do anything more to address concerns, he hopes the longlisted authors will withdraw their names from consideration.

This year香蕉视频直播檚 long list includes British Columbia authors Anne Fleming for her novel 香蕉视频直播淐uriosities香蕉视频直播� and Loghan Paylor for their novel 香蕉视频直播淭he Cure for Drowning,香蕉视频直播� both of which deal with questions of gender and sexuality in eras when those conversations were much less common.

Gender themes feature prominently on the long list, and only two of the 12 finalists are men.

They are Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 脡ric Chacour for his novel 香蕉视频直播淲hat I Know About You,香蕉视频直播� which was translated from the original French, and Edmonton香蕉视频直播檚 Conor Kerr for his novel 香蕉视频直播淧rairie Edge.香蕉视频直播�

Also in contention are Toronto poet Anne Michaels for her novel 香蕉视频直播淗eld,香蕉视频直播� Toronto-based Deepa Rajagopalan for her short story collection 香蕉视频直播淧eacocks of Instagram,香蕉视频直播� Vancouver-based Caroline Adderson for her short story collection 香蕉视频直播淎 Way to Be Happy香蕉视频直播� and B.C.-based Shashi Bhat for her collection 香蕉视频直播淒eath by a Thousand Cuts.香蕉视频直播�

Rounding out the list are Kelowna, B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 Corinna Chong for her novel 香蕉视频直播淏ad Land,香蕉视频直播� Massachusetts-based Claire Messud for the novel 香蕉视频直播淭his Strange Eventful History,香蕉视频直播� Ontario香蕉视频直播檚 Jane Urquhart for her novel 香蕉视频直播淚n Winter I Get Up at Night香蕉视频直播� and Winnipeg香蕉视频直播檚 katherena vermette for her novel 香蕉视频直播渞eal ones.香蕉视频直播�

Though several dozen authors said they had directed their publishers not to submit their works for the prize, the Giller Foundation said Wednesday the three remaining jury members picked from 112 submissions 香蕉视频直播� on par with 2017 and more than 2018.

The number is, however, down from last year and the year before 香蕉视频直播� a change the foundation attributes to a backlog of book publications in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It香蕉视频直播檚 unclear whether any of the writers who signed the letter were submitted for consideration, as publishers can put forward only a limited number of works each year.

The Giller Prize ceremony is set for Nov. 18 and will be broadcast on CBC TV and CBC Gem.