State Library Victoria cancels workshops hosted by pro-Palestine writers

State Library Victoria has cancelled a series of creative writing workshops, which were to be conducted by three writers who had publicly expressed strong opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, without giving them or attendees a clear reason for the move.

Writer and poet Omar Sakr was told before he was to begin teaching that his services were no longer required, while journalist Jinghua Qian and writer Alison Evans had already completed initial information sessions for the course when they were informed it was cancelled.

Writer and poet Omar Sakr.Credit: Isabella Moore

Called Teen Writing Bootcamps, the course was open to teenagers across the country and mainly conducted online, with one in person session bringing the authors and students together at the end, to be held onsite at the library.

A spokesperson for the State Library said the course has been deferred to the second half of the year, not cancelled, but whether these individuals will be employed remains unclear. In what was called a termination agreement, each writer was offered a payment in lieu of their teaching services.

In a statement, the library said: “Changes in the external environment may from time-to-time affect how the Library facilitates its programs. Deferment of Teen Writing Bootcamp until the second half of the year is about the Library taking its obligations for safety of participants, presenters and facilitators very seriously.”

An email from the SLV to Sakr, seen by this masthead, stated: “We have a duty of care to ensure the highest levels of child and cultural safety are in place ... At a time of heightened sensitivities, we believe it is important to conduct this review carefully and thoroughly and take the time needed to make sure that the design and implementation guidelines for programs remain appropriate.”

While the email didn’t specify the nature of the sensitivities, the writers involved believe it refers to the Israel-Hamas conflict and invasion of Gaza. All three have expressed their support of Palestinians, and opposition to Israel’s actions, on social media. Qian is also a member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s Members for Palestine group. Evans has signed multiple petitions and reposted pro-Palestine messages on Instagram and X (Twitter).

Sakr wants the library to clarify what it means when it refers to “child and cultural safety”.

“Who was unsafe? What does it mean? You have to clearly articulate if you decided on your own that your processes are insufficient, that you are unsafe. You can say that out loud. But I won’t allow the inference to remain that we are unsafe,” he said. “I’ve made it very clear to them politely and professionally that it’s too serious for me to accept their premise and walk on, even with payment.“

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Qian initially thought the changes might have been driven by very different issues. “At first I thought of the attacks on queer and trans writers, which we’ve seen in a lot of other public libraries in Victoria where people have tried to shut down other events. All three of us are queer as well.”

But the library has been outspoken, supporting freedom of expression on those fronts, they say.

“I was really looking forward to doing this program for them, especially at this time because I was going to be presenting the journalism portion and there are so many interesting questions about ethics and accountability and how to approach sensitive material. What’s really disturbing about this is SLV has in the past really stood up for difficult conversations and not shied away from tackling things that might be complex or sensitive.”

Sydney-based Sakr is concerned this move comes amid “a wave of cancellations and job losses for Arabs and Muslims and anybody who has declared an opposition to this genocide”.

“That’s a background, it’s not the only background, but it’s certainly informing my opposition,” Sakr said. “Even if we weren’t seeing all of that, I would still be opposed to this because this is my livelihood and my reputation, and this is the State Library, it’s an enormous public institution that has an important role in literary culture and as a place for literary events for authors.”

Author Alison EvansCredit: Angelita Biscotti

“I’m more than willing to have a conversation around the safety of children with anyone,” Sakr said. “I would love, in fact, to see the safety of Palestinian children foregrounded in this country given our government’s role in what’s happening in Palestine and that they have cut funding to the principal aid organisation on the ground there as we are seeing Palestinian children starve to death.”

Young adult author Alison Evans, whose event was also cancelled, says they are concerned by the library’s behaviour. “I have done work for them before, I have been working with libraries and young people across the country professionally for seven years. The silence from them has been baffling and is, in my opinion, extremely unprofessional. It’s concerning that SLV is not being upfront as to why these have been postponed or cancelled – whichever is true.”

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