Hay Festival Suspends Partnership with Baillie Gifford Over Israel, Fossil Fuels

Two weeks after more than 200 authors renewed a call for the management investment firm Baillie Gifford, which administers an annual nonfiction award of the same name in the U.K., to to divest from Israel and fossil fuels, the Hay Festival has suspended its partnership with the firm as a sponsor. The festival cited Baillie Gifford's financial interests in announcing the move.

"Our first priority is to our audience and our artists. Above all else, we must preserve the freedom of our stages and spaces for open debate and discussion, where audiences can hear a range of perspectives," said Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch in a statement. "Hay Festival Global is a charity. We are grateful to all those artists, partners and audiences who engage and contribute to the conversation, on stage and off."

U.K.–based activist organization Fossil Free Books has robustly protested Baillie Gifford's involvement in the festival of late. Baillie Gifford responded in its own statement that only 2% of its clients' funds are invested in companies with fossil fuel links.

This year's Hay festival is slated to run May 23–June 2.

A version of this story first appeared in BookBrunch.