Viet Thanh Nguyen, Mosab Abu Toha, Jenan Matari, and Daniel José Older are among the more than 100 writers who have signed an open letter vowing to boycott Indigo Books and Music, Canada’s largest bookstore.
By signing the letter, the authors have pledged “to no longer support events hosted or sponsored by Indigo Books adding to the ongoing consumer boycott against Indigo due to their CEO, Heather Reisman’s complicity and support of the genocide in Gaza.”
Published in solidarity with the Indigo Kills Kids campaign, the letter demands that Reisman and her husband (Onex Corporation founder Gerald Schwartz) fully divest from Indigo and/or dissolve the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers—a Canadian charitable organization that incentivizes foreign nationals (“lone soldiers”) to voluntarily enlist in the Israeli military. It goes on to detail how Reisman and Schwartz have donated an average of $5 million annually “to grants and scholarships supporting mercenaries who enlist in the Israeli military,” and how the HESEG Foundation has been able to maintain charitable status despite the fact that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) stipulates that supporting the armed forces of another country is not charitable.
Image courtesy of boycottindigobooks.com
In late 2025, after more than two years of protests, boycotts, and pressure campaigns (from Can Lit Responds,No Arms in the Arts, and other activist groups within the Canadian literary community), the Giller Prize—Canada’s most prestigious and lucrative literary award—quietly ended its longtime partnership with Indigo Books, having belatedly severed ties with lead sponsor Scotiabank earlier that year.
The Boycott Indigo Books campaign is now calling on all authors to “join us, to value humanity over profit, and to take a stand against Indigo turning books into bombs” by signing the open letter below and joining the boycott.
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Here is the letter in full:
We, the undersigned, are members of the literary community who pledge not to promote Indigo Books in any way and not to participate in events hosted by Heather Reisman or sponsored by Indigo Books until the following demands of the Indigo Kills Kids (aka Boycott Indigo Books) campaign are met:
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- Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz dissolve the HESEG Foundation
OR - Reisman and Schwartz sell the entirety of their shares in Indigo Books.
- Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz dissolve the HESEG Foundation
Heather Reisman, the founder, Chair, and CEO of Indigo Books, and her partner Gerald Schwartz, have used their substantial share of profits from Indigo Books & Music Inc., to establish the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers, a Canadian charitable organization that incentivizes foreign nationals (“lone soldiers”) to voluntarily enlist in the israeli military. The HESEG Foundation offers grants and scholarships that cover the recipient’s tuition costs at academic institutions in israel, as well as their living expenses during study, on the condition that the recipient serves at least one term of active service in the israeli military. Reisman and Schwartz donate $5 million on average annually to grants and scholarships supporting mercenaries who enlist in the israeli military. According to Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), the HESEG Board of Directors has consisted of several members or veterans of the israeli military who have been criticized for major violations of international law under their command. Although the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) states that “supporting the armed forces of another country” is not charitable, the HESEG Foundation has maintained support and its official charity status.
The israeli government, whose soldiers enforce the violent occupation of Palestine, are currently engaged in the destruction of the Gaza strip, with The Lancet making the grim projection that the death toll from October 7, 2023 onward could conservatively exceed 200,000. Children account for nearly half of presently known deaths.
The Palestinian solidarity movement in Canada has been calling for a boycott of Indigo since 2006. In July 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese released a report outlining a number of businesses making significant financial gains from the ongoing assault on Gaza and the Middle East. It is evident that the Boycott Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement is more critical than ever. The people of Gaza are currently facing genocide. It is our moral obligation to name and hold accountable companies that are aiding in the slaughter of Palestinians.
In 2025, the Giller prize dropped its partnership with Indigo Books. This divestment came after years of pressure from the CanLit community, including an open letter signed by over 2000 Canadian writers. However, Reisman has signalled no intention of selling her shares in Indigo Books, or of stepping away from her position as director of the HESEG Foundation. Instead, she continues to support israel and its military through wealth accumulated from Indigo Books. In 2024, Resiman and Schwartz donated $4,600,000 to the HESEG Foundation.
It remains urgent for members of the literary community to oppose Indigo’s financial support for the israeli military and its complicity in genocide. Over 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) since a “ceasefire” was declared in October 2025. israel has approved a budget to build 34 more illegal settlements in the West Bank, while the United Nations warns that israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has reached an all-time high. In the past year, israel has attacked Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Qatar, bombing schools, medical facilities, critical infrastructure, and homes.
We call on all authors to join us, to value humanity over profit, and to take a stand against Indigo turning books into bombs.