Douglas Todd: Accused Canadian author Steven Galloway makes major progress in libel case

The most prominent figures to privately settle with Steven Galloway, who wrote the best-selling novels The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist, are two former UBC colleagues. Photo by Brad Cran /Apple Photos Clean Up

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Former UBC creative writing professor and novelist Steven Galloway is making significant headway in his defamation case, 11 years after he was accused of rape by a former student.

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At least eight people who publicly alleged Galloway had sexually assaulted the student have recently settled out of court with him, in the midst of a complex libel battle that has dragged on for eight years.

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The most prominent figures to privately settle with Galloway, who wrote the best-selling novels The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist, are two of his former colleagues — UBC creative writing professors Annabelle Lyon and Keith Maillard.

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B.C. Supreme Court Justice Neena Sharma was also told Wednesday that the former student (known as A.B.) who alleged Galloway raped her on several occasions failed to appear at an examination for discovery in June.

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The court also heard A.B. will not attend the defamation trial against her, which is scheduled for Oct. 5.

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Galloway has previously acknowledged that in 2015 he was having an affair with the middle-aged student, who, like him, was married at the time.

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In the midst of the rape allegations by former colleagues and students, which were spread widely on social media by some of the defendants, Galloway was suspended by UBC. He has been unable to write since. At one point he said he considered suicide. Galloway now sells boats to make a living.

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The lawyer for A.B. also told the pre-trial hearing on Wednesday that she would no longer defend herself against Galloway’s libel action by making the legal argument of “justification.”

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Sharma interpreted that to mean A.B. will no longer continue to defend herself against Galloway’s libel action by maintaining she was sexually assaulted.

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“That’s a very important admission,” said Sharma. “It’s a very significant issue.”

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One of A.B.’s lawyers said her client is struggling with “mental health” problems.

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The lawyer told the court that A.B. attempted suicide this summer, which led her to stop working.

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Sharma was also told that former UBC writing student Chelsea Rooney, who was among more than 20 people named in Galloway’s libel suit, had settled with the one-time author.

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Rooney has been a key figure in the drawn-out case because, at the behest of professors Mallard and Lyon, she had independently collected evidence about Galloway from more than a dozen students and others. One judge described how Rooney published a “barrage of tweets alleging misconduct” against Galloway on X.

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The judge also heard from Galloway’s lawyer, Dan Burnett, that five other people who made sexual-assault allegations against Galloway, including on social media, had recently settled with him out of court. They are Brit Bachmann, Theresa Smalec, Marcelle Kosman, Ari Rombough and Keira Anderson. Some other defendants had settled earlier.