Fierce controversy is rocking Canada’s literary community over the sacking of a creative writing tutor at the University of British Columbia. More than 80 authors, including Margaret Atwood and Yann Martel, have signed an open letter calling for an independent investigation into the dismissal. But that protest has prompted further contention, with the signatories now accused of pressuring abuse victims into silence.

Steven Galloway, author of the novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, was the chairman of UBC’s creative writing program until November 2015, when he was suspended by the university for what it called “serious allegations”. He was then sacked in June, when UBC said there had been “a record of misconduct that resulted in an irreparable breach of … trust”.

The university has never revealed what the allegations against Galloway were, saying it can’t disclose any details without his consent because of privacy legislation. Galloway has been directed to not speak publicly while his union contests his dismissal, a process that won’t be completed until March.

My belief in due process and my belief in survivors are both parts of me, and I cannot sacrifice one for the other. Madeleine Thien, author

However, while the report on which the decision to sack Galloway was based has not been made public, the UBC faculty association issued a statement “to clarify that all but one of the allegations, including the most serious allegation … were not substantiated”.

Although UBC remains silent on the nature of the allegations, several have been leaked to the Canadian media. The primary complainant is a UBC student who claims to have had a sexual relationship with Galloway in the past and made numerous other allegations. Others allege that they witnessed behaviour including sexual harassment, bullying and favouritism.

An open letter, written and circulated by novelist Joseph Boyden, criticised UBC for publicly naming Galloway when he was first suspended. It also voiced concerns that the university’s investigation process had been secretive and unfair. It was signed by more than 80 authors, including Atwood, Martel, Michael Ondaatje and Madeleine Thien.



“Professor Galloway himself has been denied the right to speak publicly … The University’s willingness to allow the suspicions it has created to continue to circulate is surprising and appears to be contrary to the principles of fairness and justice that should guide any distinguished academic institution,” the letter reads.

Last October, Thien, a UBC graduate, sent the university a letter stipulating that her name be removed from all UBC web pages, alumni publications and social media. In her letter, Thien voiced her support for Galloway and revealed that he had attempted suicide. She also identified herself as a sexual assault survivor. “I believe you have failed everyone involved. I know that, if we want a world where women are believed, we must support them to give their evidence without fear or reprisals, in a context in which their identity can be protected and guaranteed by the law, in a system that is transparent and just,” she wrote.

“I know the terrible and lasting pain of sexual assault,” Thien told the Guardian. “My belief in due process and my belief in survivors are both parts of me, and I cannot sacrifice one for the other. It would be like ripping myself in two.”

Madeleine Thien, the Canadian short story writer and novelist. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian

Other authors who signed the letter also took further action in support of Galloway. The writer Ian Weir, who teaches at UBC on a term-by-term basis, told the Vancouver Sun he would not apply for another contract with the university, while Hollywood screenwriter Hart Hanson said he was rethinking a donation he had planned for UBC’s creative writing department.

The letter sparked a backlash online, particularly towards Atwood on Twitter, a platform on which she is very vocal. She later sent a statement to various Canadian media groups, comparing the process by which Galloway was investigated to the Salem witch trials: “Those accused would almost certainly be found guilty because of the way the rules of evidence were set up, and if you objected to the proceedings you would be accused yourself.”

“To take the position that the members of a group called ‘women’ are always right and never lie – demonstrably not true – and that members of a group called ‘accused men’ are always guilty – Steven Truscott, anyone? – would do a great disservice to accusing women and abuse survivors, since it discredits any accusations immediately,” she wrote. “Those accusing Joseph Boyden, Madeleine Thien and all the other signatories of the letter in question, of rape culture and intimidation of young people because they have objected to a university’s flawed and high-handed process should give some thought to the consequences.”

The open letter spawned a second in response. “We are shocked and appalled by the letter signed by many prominent Canadian writers defending Steven Galloway,” wrote Professor Julie Rak of the University of Alberta, in a letter posted to Change.org and signed by 390 people by Wednesday morning. “We are angered by this letter of ‘support’, because no support was expressed for the female complainant or for the other female students who felt it was safe to make complaints after Steven Galloway was suspended.”

Complainants have told the Canadian media they’re worried the fame of the authors will intimidate people and deter them from reporting incidents.

“I wept when I read those names because I truly believe those writers have no idea the silencing effect this letter has on victims, both of the past and of the future,” said Sierra Skye Gemma, a former UBC student who filed a complaint against Galloway over behaviour she says she witnessed.

“The letter reads like a high-minded manifesto calling for due process,” Chelsea Rooney, a UBC graduate and one of the complainants, told the Globe and Mail. “To the complainants, however, who have been going through this investigation for a year, it reads like Canada’s most powerful authors saying ‘Be quiet, we don’t believe you. And we don’t care.’”

Novelist Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer signed the letter but later asked for her name to be withdrawn. “I signed it in spirit of an open and honest inquiry and regret not being more sensitive to how its wording could cause harm,” she wrote on Facebook.

In its statement, UBC said: “It is important to note that a review of the university’s decision is already under way. Like any former faculty member, Mr Galloway has the right to challenge the university’s decision and the faculty association has filed a grievance and arranged for senior legal counsel.”