R.F. Kuang, the bestselling novelist behind Katabasis, Yellowface, and Babel, is taking a stand with the BDS movement.

Citing a call from the organizers of the Palestinian BDS (or, Boycott, Divest, and Sanction) National Committee, the popular author withdrew from a slated appearance at the upcoming Emirates Airline Festival of Literature yesterday.

Though she’d planned to appear in person this January, Kuang backed out of LitFest with apologies to the organizers and her Emirati fans. She broke the news to all readers via Insta last night, saying she will “no longer be able to travel to Dubai” for the festival, due to the UAE’s implication with ongoing atrocities in Sudan.

The UN has accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the Rapid Supports Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group behind the unfolding violence. And while the UAE government continues to deny such allegations—or attempt to mitigate them, with robust humanitarian aid—the BDS movement has called on its affiliates to express solidarity with affected “kindred people in Sudan.”

Kuang, who has previously explored colonial violence in her beloved Poppy Wars trilogy, told followers that she has “always respected organized calls for cultural boycotts against genocide from communities directly affected and in particular, guidelines set forth by the BDS movement.”

Prolific as she is principled, Kuang is meanwhile at work on four more books. Taipei Story, her next, will follow a college freshman as she comes into age and identity while processing deep grief.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature kicked of 15 years ago. Supported by the Emirates Literary Foundation, the fest represents “the Arab World’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word,” and ideally features international and regional writers, poets, thinkers, and speakers from all over the world.

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In the trailer, we watch as the eponymous sec unit (or “security unit”), which has named itself Murderbot, is hired for security detail by a crew of scientists. Eventually, it’s discovered to have hijacked its own system and gone “rogue.” Going rogue essentially means that it, as a security/killing cyborg, has free will as opposed to being controlled. And it, naturally, uses this free will to watch hours upon hours of “content,” which includes space soap operas like The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.

We’re soon shown how free will is an issue, though, since sec units are designed for violence, and the crew isn’t sure that they can trust it. But the hostile environment they landed on means they don’t have much of a choice.

Alexander Skarsgård stars, and his comedic timing meshes perfectly with Murderbot’s awkward temperament, while the rest of the cast—David Dastmalchia as Gurathin, Noma Dumezweni as Dr. Mensah, Akshay Khanna as Ratthi, and others—feel just as equally plucked from Martha Wells’s pages.

The series debuts May 16th this year, but if you want to prep by listening to the highly entertaining (and hilarious) Murderbot series before season one drops, the award-winning Kevin R. Free’s narration is perfect.

To learn more about the series, visit Apple TV+

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

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