Authors join call for Baillie Gifford to divest from fossil fuel

More than 150 writers and industry professionals are asking the firm, which is a leading sponsor of UK literary festivals, to drop their investments

More than 150 authors and books industry professionals including Naomi Klein, Robert Macfarlane, Emma Dabiri and Geoff Dyer have signed a statement calling on key literary festival sponsor Baillie Gifford to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

The statement was written by the newly formed Fossil Fuel Books (FFB), a movement launched by the literary industry professionals who organised an open letter to the Edinburgh international books festival in August. Then, they were asking the festival to call on its sponsor, investment firm Baillie Gifford, to divest from fossil fuels, or otherwise to drop the sponsorship deal. Now, FFB is urging all UK literature festivals and prizes currently receiving sponsorship from Baillie Gifford to join them in calling on the firm to stop fossil fuel investments.