Some of Australia's most prominent authors have added their names to an open protest letter to the nation's busiest public library, over the postponement of a workshop involving pro-Palestine writers.
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Writers Alison Evans, Omar Sakr, Jinghua Qian and Ariel Slamet Ries had been contracted to run the Teen Writing Bootcamp at the State Library of Victoria, however the program was cancelled in late February.
"It's not okay for a public institution to enact censorship like this," Jinghua Qian stated on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The bootcamp was put off because it was the only current program for children being run without a parent, guardian or teacher present, the library said.
"The decision to defer the program and conduct a review was made because, at this time of heightened sensitivities, it is important to make sure our protocols and practices remain effective to discharge our duty of care for everyone involved," it said in a statement to AAP.
The library is an apolitical cultural institution and the decision was not based on the political beliefs or identity of anyone involved with the program, it said.
Authors including Tony Birch, Hannah Kent, Christos Tsiolkas and Michelle de Kretser have added their names to a protest letter, which has so far collected more than 500 signatories.
The letter states the library's reasoning implies the institution, and the writers themselves, are dangerous or unsafe, which is completely unacceptable for the writers involved.
"We consider this defamatory and damaging. The circumstances referenced must be made clear, so there can be no doubt as to their conduct and employability as authors," the letter reads.
Poet and novelist Omar Sakr, whose workshop was postponed the day before it was due to be held, went online to speculate that the deferral was actually due to complaints by pro-Israel lobbyists.
"They're going to spend months trying to answer the question of whether it's safe to hire an Arab Muslim poet, and I'm honestly not sure they're going to say yes," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The controversy comes during the library's hosting of an exhibition of rare Hebrew manuscripts, which runs until mid-April.
The exhibition Luminous: A thousand years of Hebrew manuscripts is being held in conjunction with the British Library and Creative Victoria, with the Jewish Museum of Australia named as a cultural partner.
The State Library has confirmed the teen writing program has been deferred until the second half of 2024 and presenters have been offered payment in recognition of time spent.
It declined to comment on its head of audience engagement, Angharad Wynne-Jones, who reportedly resigned last week.
The library's chief executive Paul Duldig was not available for interview Friday.
Australian Associated Press
