WRITER’S BLOCK

Two Sponsors Pull Out of National Book Awards Over Pro-Palestinian Statement

Some authors plan to make a pro-Palestinian statement at the ceremony.

At least two sponsors have pulled out of this week’s National Book Awards after being informed that some authors plan to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, The New York Times reports. “I am not comfortable bringing my authors and my team into a politically charged environment like this one, one that will make many of us feel quite uncomfortable—including myself as a Jewish woman,” publisher Zibby Owens wrote to the foundation behind the awards, arguing that a pro-Palestinian statement would stoke antisemitism. Aaliyah Bilal, a finalist, said that is not the intention at all. “It was very important, as we were constructing it, that we were clear that we are sensitive to all of the antisemitism going on in this moment,” she said. “We don’t want to contribute to inflaming that.”