Bestselling novelist Rebecca F. Kuang has withdrawn from the upcoming Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai, citing a recent call by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to boycott the United Arab Emirates over its alleged role in mass atrocities in Sudan.
Kuang - the author of The Poppy War trilogy, Yellowface and Babel, or the Necessity of Violence - was scheduled to appear at the festival between 21 and 27 January.
In an Instagram story, she shared a message sent to the organisers in which she said she was "no longer able to travel to Dubai to attend the Festival of Literature".
She added that the decision came in response to "current events in Sudan" and the BDS National Committee’s "recent call for a boycott of the UAE given the mass atrocities in Sudan".
The BDS movement describes itself as a campaign for freedom, justice and equality, urging boycotts of institutions complicit in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.
In November, the movement expanded its focus to include calls for an international cultural and economic boycott of the UAE, following mounting allegations that Abu Dhabi played a role in arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese paramilitary group accused of widespread atrocities.
Kuang said she had "always respected organised calls for cultural boycotts against genocide from communities directly affected and in particular, guidelines set forth by the BDS movement".
She asked festival organisers to remove her from all programming and promotional material. In her message, she apologised for the late withdrawal, describing the festival as "a labour of love", and added that she hoped to attend "when there is no longer a need for a boycott".
Her withdrawal comes as Sudan remains locked in a brutal civil war between the internationally recognised government in Khartoum and the RSF, which attempted to seize power in 2023.
Last month, the International Criminal Court accused the RSF of crimes against humanity after an 18-month siege of the city of El-Fasher, the last government stronghold in Darfur, ended with the group taking full control.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced an estimated 12 million people, triggering what humanitarian agencies describe as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The United Nations has accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF, an allegation Sudan took to the International Court of Justice earlier this year, charging Abu Dhabi with supporting genocide.
The UAE denies the accusations. Nevertheless, calls for a cultural and economic boycott of the Gulf state have gained traction, with the BDS movement formally joining the campaign in November.