The group of authors in contention for this year91裸聊视频檚 $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 202391裸聊视频檚 ceremony to decry the bank91裸聊视频檚 investment in an Israeli weapons manufacturer.

91裸聊视频淯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 Canada91裸聊视频檚 best storytellers,91裸聊视频� Rabinovitch said in an email. 91裸聊视频淔or us, that means ensuring the focus remains solely on the prize and the art itself.91裸聊视频�

In the months since last year91裸聊视频檚 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 Israel91裸聊视频檚 army.

That includes Indigo, whose CEO Heather Reisman is the founder of Hesig Foundation, which offers funding to so-called lone soldiers 91裸聊视频� people who join the Israeli Defense Forces despite not having family in the country.

The two international judges on this year91裸聊视频檚 five-member jury resigned from their positions in July and numerous authors 91裸聊视频� including past prize contenders 91裸聊视频� 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 Scotiabank91裸聊视频檚 name from the prize does not address the writers91裸聊视频� concerns.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 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 authors91裸聊视频� demands under the rug instead of directly responding to them,91裸聊视频� 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 Israel91裸聊视频檚 attack on Gaza.

Likewise, Avik Jain Chatlani, author of 91裸聊视频淭his Country is No Longer Yours91裸聊视频� and a signatory of the letter, said focusing on art is not inherently virtuous.

91裸聊视频淎rt is like exercise. You can do it; it can make you feel better; it91裸聊视频檚 good for you. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 necessarily make you more decent,91裸聊视频� 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 doesn91裸聊视频檛 expect the Giller Foundation to do anything more to address concerns, he hopes the longlisted authors will withdraw their names from consideration.

This year91裸聊视频檚 long list includes British Columbia authors Anne Fleming for her novel 91裸聊视频淐uriosities91裸聊视频� and Loghan Paylor for their novel 91裸聊视频淭he Cure for Drowning,91裸聊视频� 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 Montreal91裸聊视频檚 脡ric Chacour for his novel 91裸聊视频淲hat I Know About You,91裸聊视频� which was translated from the original French, and Edmonton91裸聊视频檚 Conor Kerr for his novel 91裸聊视频淧rairie Edge.91裸聊视频�

Also in contention are Toronto poet Anne Michaels for her novel 91裸聊视频淗eld,91裸聊视频� Toronto-based Deepa Rajagopalan for her short story collection 91裸聊视频淧eacocks of Instagram,91裸聊视频� Vancouver-based Caroline Adderson for her short story collection 91裸聊视频淎 Way to Be Happy91裸聊视频� and B.C.-based Shashi Bhat for her collection 91裸聊视频淒eath by a Thousand Cuts.91裸聊视频�

Rounding out the list are Kelowna, B.C.91裸聊视频檚 Corinna Chong for her novel 91裸聊视频淏ad Land,91裸聊视频� Massachusetts-based Claire Messud for the novel 91裸聊视频淭his Strange Eventful History,91裸聊视频� Ontario91裸聊视频檚 Jane Urquhart for her novel 91裸聊视频淚n Winter I Get Up at Night91裸聊视频� and Winnipeg91裸聊视频檚 katherena vermette for her novel 91裸聊视频渞eal ones.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频� on par with 2017 and more than 2018.

The number is, however, down from last year and the year before 91裸聊视频� a change the foundation attributes to a backlog of book publications in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It91裸聊视频檚 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.