The group of authors in contention for this year害羞草研究所檚 $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害羞草研究所檚 ceremony to decry the bank害羞草研究所檚 investment in an Israeli weapons manufacturer.

害羞草研究所淯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害羞草研究所檚 best storytellers,害羞草研究所� Rabinovitch said in an email. 害羞草研究所淔or us, that means ensuring the focus remains solely on the prize and the art itself.害羞草研究所�

In the months since last year害羞草研究所檚 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害羞草研究所檚 army.

That includes Indigo, whose CEO Heather Reisman is the founder of Hesig Foundation, which offers funding to so-called lone soldiers 害羞草研究所� people who join the Israeli Defense Forces despite not having family in the country.

The two international judges on this year害羞草研究所檚 five-member jury resigned from their positions in July and numerous authors 害羞草研究所� including past prize contenders 害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 name from the prize does not address the writers害羞草研究所� concerns.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 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害羞草研究所� demands under the rug instead of directly responding to them,害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 attack on Gaza.

Likewise, Avik Jain Chatlani, author of 害羞草研究所淭his Country is No Longer Yours害羞草研究所� and a signatory of the letter, said focusing on art is not inherently virtuous.

害羞草研究所淎rt is like exercise. You can do it; it can make you feel better; it害羞草研究所檚 good for you. It doesn害羞草研究所檛 necessarily make you more decent,害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檛 expect the Giller Foundation to do anything more to address concerns, he hopes the longlisted authors will withdraw their names from consideration.

This year害羞草研究所檚 long list includes British Columbia authors Anne Fleming for her novel 害羞草研究所淐uriosities害羞草研究所� and Loghan Paylor for their novel 害羞草研究所淭he Cure for Drowning,害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 脡ric Chacour for his novel 害羞草研究所淲hat I Know About You,害羞草研究所� which was translated from the original French, and Edmonton害羞草研究所檚 Conor Kerr for his novel 害羞草研究所淧rairie Edge.害羞草研究所�

Also in contention are Toronto poet Anne Michaels for her novel 害羞草研究所淗eld,害羞草研究所� Toronto-based Deepa Rajagopalan for her short story collection 害羞草研究所淧eacocks of Instagram,害羞草研究所� Vancouver-based Caroline Adderson for her short story collection 害羞草研究所淎 Way to Be Happy害羞草研究所� and B.C.-based Shashi Bhat for her collection 害羞草研究所淒eath by a Thousand Cuts.害羞草研究所�

Rounding out the list are Kelowna, B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Corinna Chong for her novel 害羞草研究所淏ad Land,害羞草研究所� Massachusetts-based Claire Messud for the novel 害羞草研究所淭his Strange Eventful History,害羞草研究所� Ontario害羞草研究所檚 Jane Urquhart for her novel 害羞草研究所淚n Winter I Get Up at Night害羞草研究所� and Winnipeg害羞草研究所檚 katherena vermette for her novel 害羞草研究所渞eal ones.害羞草研究所�

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 害羞草研究所� on par with 2017 and more than 2018.

The number is, however, down from last year and the year before 害羞草研究所� a change the foundation attributes to a backlog of book publications in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It害羞草研究所檚 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.