Following the recent decision by the State Library of Queensland to rescind a Fellowship from First Nations writer Karen Wyld (who now publishes under the name KA Ren Wyld), several judges for the Queensland Literary Awards have resigned in protest over the Library’s decision.
According to Guardian Australia, writers Evelyn Araluen, Jeanine Leane, Nigel Featherstone and Luke Patterson have stepped down from their judging duties for the Queensland Literary Awards. Other judges may have resigned but did so anonymously.
Araluen, the Stella-winning author of poetry collection Dropbear, explained her position: “I will not participate in a system that values thought-policing and the silencing of anti-genocidal sentiments over the integrity of artists.
“By conceding to this flagrant weaponisation of the mere perception of a bad-faith assumption of anti-Semitism, wielded against a First Nations author who has been so central to the Blak literary community, the State Library have made themselves liable for the consequences of this decision. The reputational harm of this choice will not be ignored by the literary and First Nations community,” she told Guardian Australia.
Araluen’s concern was echoed by other judges. On his Instagram account, Featherstone says his resignation was “due to yet another example of Australian artists being denied work, opportunities and recognition based on political views”.
Read: Stop censoring artists: perceptions and strategies
A fellow judge, Sara El Sayed, the author of memoir Muddy People, also commented on the same social media platform: “Literature must remain a space for truth, courage, resistance and humanity. Anything less is a betrayal of the very value these awards should uphold.”
Wyld was poised to receive a $15,000 writing fellowship as part of the Queensland library’s black&write! First Nations writing and editing program, but their fellowship was rescinded hours before it was due.
Their comments on X (formerly Twitter) about the death of the then–Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October 2024, in the context of the ongoing Gaza conflict, were cited as the reason why their award was recinded.
According to an interview Wyld gave InReview, they did not know all the facts about Sinwar’s identity when the post in question was made and believed they had deleted the contentious tweet soon afterwards.
The Australian Government has listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation as per the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website.
