A prestigious Quebec literary prize suspended following the outcry sparked by the Amazon sponsorship agreement

MONTREAL – A prestigious Quebec literary award has been suspended following the outcry sparked by the announcement of the online giant Amazon, the main sponsor.

An organizer of the Collegians' Literary Award announced its decision yesterday after members of the public and the literary community denounced the multinational's involvement.

The five finalists of the 2019 edition of the award have published this week in Le Devoir a joint letter in which they worry about what they have called the "extreme competition" of Amazon and its detrimental effects on small booksellers.

Authors Karoline Georges, Kevin Lambert, Jean-Christophe Rehel, Lula Carballo and Dominique Fortier stated that Amazon's commitment went against the mission of the award to promote Quebec literature.

A group representing Quebec writers expressed disappointment over the suspension and called on the Quebec government and the business community to provide the necessary funding to keep the price alive.

The prize organizers announced that they would meet members of the literary community and that they were ready to restart the contest if they received enough support.