Fossil Free Books

Press release. Thursday 02 May 2024

“A clear double standard on Palestine.” Author’s union votes to support fossil fuel divestment but refuses to condemn the killing of writers in Gaza

  • The Society of Authors held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to vote on motions in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and fossil fuel divestment in the book industry
  • Members voted 1,480 to 251 in favour of divestment motion, echoing calls by author protest of Baillie Gifford, Edinburgh International Books Festival sponsor
  • Members voted 883 to 786 against making a statement in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and condemn persecution of writers in Palestine
  • Guy Gunaratne, Booker Prize 2018 nominee: “A clear double standard on Palestine.”
  • Kamila Shamsie, Women’s Prize 2018 winner, condemns union double standards: “How is this remotely democratic?”
  • Fossil Free Books members available for comment and broadcast interviews: fossilfreebooksuk@gmail.com and +44 7486 709 336

Today, members of the Society of Authors cast a historic vote for industry-wide divestment from fossil fuels at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The vote, which was endorsed by the Society of Authors’ management committee, calls on all financial institutions with ties, through sponsorship or other partnerships, to divest from the fossil fuel industry. It also calls on publishing institutions with investments in the fossil fuel industry to divest directly.

This comes after hundreds of authors, including Zadie Smith and Ali Smith, signed a statement calling for Edinburgh International Books Festival sponsor, Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford, to divest from the fossil fuel industry last August. This was followed by a similar statement in October 2023 to Cheltenham Festival, also sponsored by Baillie Gifford, signed by George Monbiot, Naomi Klein and others.

Members also voted by 883 to 786 (47% to 53%) to reject a resolution committing the SoA to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, to condemn the targeting of journalists and writers as well as the destruction of cultural infrastructure, and affirm Palestinian rights. Members of Fossil Free Books, who organised both resolutions, have criticised the handling of the EGM process by the Society of Authors’ management committee, who spoke against the resolution at the EGM and issued a statement urging members to vote against it when the EGM was announced. The Gaza motion was organised in collaboration with Book Workers for A Free Palestine.

Ahead of the EGM, the SoA Management Committee supported the resolution calling for divestment, but released a statement urging its members to oppose the resolution for Palestinian solidarity. In contrast, the SoA issued a statement in solidarity with Ukrainian writers, illustrators and translators three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Management Committee claimed this recent motion lay outside of their remit to comment on ‘general political issues,’ based on a new policy and practice document updated in January 2024. Writers organising with Fossil Free Books have argued that this shows a ‘double standard when it comes to Palestine,’ and point out that many other trade unions in the UK have made statements calling for a ceasefire.

Ahead of the vote, both resolutions were publicly endorsed by a diverse collective authors, illustrators and translators who are Society of Authors members, including: Julia Sanches, Jen Calleja, Anna James, Emma Reynolds, Omar Robert Hamilton, A K Blakemore, Olivia Sudjic, Anthony Anaxagorou, Sarah Bernstein, Kamila Shamsie and Max Porter. They were both also endorsed by a range of organisations including: Book Workers for a Free Palestine, Vashti Media Editorial Collective, Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Queers for Palestine, Art Workers for Palestine Scotland, Scottish BPOC Writers’ Network and PalFest.

It was astonishing to watch the Society of Authors back one resolution which is deeply political (divesting from fossil fuels) while opposing another on the grounds that the Society of Authors doesn’t engage in politics. This is a very odd sort of society which responds to opposing views within its ranks by declaring the subject off-bounds. How is this remotely democratic? If the management committee didn’t want to condemn the targeted killing of writers and the decimation of the cultural sector in Gaza, it should have plainly said so rather than hiding behind a newly created rule that attempts to make the issue one of procedure rather than morality.

Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends and Home Fires, and winner of the 2018 Women’s Prize

​​These results show a clear double standard on Palestine from the Society of Authors’ Management Committee. They supported the resolution on fossil fuel divestment, yet throughout this process they have resisted our call for condemning the killing of our colleagues. They asked all members to vote against it, and even changed the number of agreed speakers three hours before the vote. In spite of this, the resolution was rejected by a very small margin. It shows a huge support for a different trade union: one that truly protects authors, illustrators and translators.

Guy Gunaratne, author of Mister, Mister and Our Mad and Furious City, and nominee for the 2018 Booker Prize

Fossil Free Books said:

We are disappointed that our trade union still refuses to: condemn the genocide in Gaza, support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, or express solidarity with Palestinian writers and publishing workers here in the UK who face job loss and censorship for speaking out.

But – whatever the outcome of the vote – this was always just the start. Hundreds of workers from all parts of the books industry came together to organise for this vote. We know a books industry that is genocide and fossil free is possible. We call on every single book worker – booksellers, authors, editors, agents, librarians, translators, illustrators and more – to join Fossil Free Books and Book Workers for a Free Palestine to organise with us. Fossil Free Books meetings are every Monday at 12, email us at fossilfreebooksuk@gmail.com if you would like to come. Sign up to organise with Book Workers for a Free Palestine.”.

We believe that this vote has highlighted the importance of an active and strong trade union for writers, translators and illustrators. When trade unions work, they protect jobs, workers from censorship and play integral roles in international solidarity campaigns on issues that affect us all, from Palestine to fossil fuels and beyond. Fossil Free Books will continue to organise divestment from fossil fuels and Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide in the book industry, and working towards establishing a Trade Union that we can rely on, whether this is through policy reform of the SoA or establishing a new alternative.

We are heartened that our fossil fuels motion has passed, and that the demands for divestment first made by authors last summer in Edinburgh are now supported by our trade union.

But this is just the start. Last week, mass graves containing 392 bodies were found in Gaza. We call on every single book worker - booksellers, authors, editors, agents, librarians, translators, illustrators and more - to join Fossil Free Books and Book Workers for a Free Palestine to organise for a books industry that is genocide free and fossil fuel free.

Fossil Free Books meetings are every Monday at 12, email us at fossilfreebooksuk@gmail.com if you would like to come. Sign up to organise with Book Workers for a Free Palestine.

Notes to editors

Fossil Free Books is a coalition of writers, illustrators, translators and book workers who have been organising on these issues. In 2023 FFB organised a collective of more than 150 writers and industry professionals to ask Baillie Gifford to divest from fossil fuels, organising a boycott of the Edinburgh international book festivals due to fossil fuels investment.

The SOA Fossil Fuel Divestment Motion (including SOA management committee positions)
The SOA Palestine Solidarity Resolution (including SOA management committee positions)

Contact: fossilfreebooksuk@gmail.com and +44 7486 709 336

ENDS