Steven Galloway, former chair of University of British Columbia’s creative-writing program, testified in British Columbia Supreme Court on Friday as part of an eight-year defamation lawsuit against women who accused him of sexual assault. Galloway disputes claims made by his lawyer Arden Beddoes that his book sales had declined before the allegations surfaced; he attributes a significant drop in sales to the aftermath of the accusations rather than pre-existing poor performance, citing 8,390 copies sold for "The Confabulist" compared to 132,256 for his previous book. Galloway maintains that his career was not in decline prior to the allegations and argues that the subsequent fallout caused a substantial decrease in his book sales and professional standing.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Steven Galloway, a bestselling Canadian author and former University of British Columbia (UBC) professor, is suing four individuals for defamation related to false sexual assault allegations. In 2015, Galloway was accused by a former student, identified only as A.B., leading UBC to fire him shortly after launching an investigation. Testifying at the B.C. Supreme Court trial in Vancouver, Galloway claimed he was "shocked" upon learning of the accusations and denied all allegations of sexual assault. His wife testified on day one that Galloway had been hospitalized on a 72-hour suicide watch when she arrived to support him after the accusation surfaced while he was in Ohio.
Galloway’s testimony detailed how their affair, which ended amicably in 2013, was followed by A.B. filing a sexual harassment complaint with UBC three years later. He stated that none of the specific incidents alleged occurred and maintained his innocence. The defamation lawsuit, launched after A.B.'s claims went public, has had a significant impact on Galloway’s career; book sales "cratered" to about $5,000 to $10,000 annually from previous higher royalties. He also testified that he can no longer write due to the stress and trauma caused by these unproven allegations.
Written for “Galloway Defamation Trial” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
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Steven Galloway’s follow-up to The Cellist of Sarajevo sold a fraction of the copies that the 2008 international bestseller had, and he received much lower Canadian advances for his next planned endeavour.
asserted
he → sell → endeavour
But Mr. Galloway testified in British Columbia Supreme Court Friday that these metrics don’t prove his career as a writer was on the downslope before a former student’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her led to his suspension from teaching in 2015 and near-immediate exile from Canada’s literary world.
asserted
he → testify → world
During the first day of his cross-examination at the defamation trial he has been pursuing for eight years, the former chair of University of British Columbia’s creative-writing program disputed the assertion by a defendant’s lawyer that 2014’s The Confabulist was a flop for selling 8,390 total copies in Canada compared with the 132,256 of his smash hit.
“Cellist was a zeitgeist book, and this was just a book,” he explained to Arden Beddoes, lead counsel for the woman who made the allegations, known only as A.B. because of a publication ban on her name.
asserted
who → pursue → name
Mr. Beddoes took the novelist through months of financial records and posited that sales had already fallen off before his client’s allegations ignited an online and industry firestorm over his suspension and eventual dismissal from UBC.
asserted
allegations → take → UBC
Mr. Galloway pushed back, saying The Confabulist had not enjoyed a run of success from paperback sales because these books were put on stands around the time of his fall from grace.
asserted
books → push → grace
“It had a paperback life without an author,” he said.
asserted
he → have → author
Mr. Galloway maintained that his sales had “cratered” because of the allegations made by A.B., whom he is suing for defamation along with three other women who publicly repeated the allegations of sexual assault.
asserted
who → maintain → assault
The trial will not hear testimony from A.B.
asserted
trial → hear → A.B.
Mr. Beddoes told the court that her defence no longer includes an assertion that she was assaulted, but rather that she reported the alleged assaults.
asserted
she → tell → assaults
Mr. Beddoes has said A.B. has twice tried to kill herself in recent months because of the stress of the ordeal.
asserted
A.B. → say → ordeal
A retired judge hired by the university to investigate her complaint found that, on a balance of probabilities, it could not be established that he committed sexual assault or assault.
uncertain
he → retire → assault
Mr. Galloway was never charged with a crime, but he was fired without severance in 2016 due to breach of trust.
asserted
he → charge → trust
Earlier Friday, Mr. Galloway testified that there was no official prohibition on sexual relationships between students and faculty, and that he knows of “numerous instances” of similar relationships in the university’s faculty of arts.
asserted
he → testify → arts
He testified that it was normal for other professors to attend a regular night at a Vancouver legion to hang out and drink with students.
asserted
professors → testify → students
Mr. Beddoes questioned Mr. Galloway about a voicemail that he left for A.B. shortly before his suspension that offered an apology that said he was ashamed and was working to be a better person and “turn over a new leaf.”
asserted
he → question → leaf
He told the court that he is ashamed for having an affair with the student and cheating on his then-wife, but he didn’t think he would be fired for violating the university’s conflict-of-interest policy.
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he → tell → policy
The court heard how in November, 2015, Mr. Galloway had repeatedly called both A.B. and fellow faculty member Keith Maillard, whom had received an e-mail where A.B. had described feeling at risk and “unsafe.”
asserted
A.B. → hear → risk
Mr. Beddoes suggested that the numerous calls were Mr. Galloway “panicking,” but Mr. Galloway said that he wanted to disclose the pair’s past affair himself to Mr. Maillard, a mentor and “father figure.”
uncertain
he → suggest → Maillard
Mr. Galloway testified that no other faculty members had ever been terminated for similar conduct, though he says he should not have cheated on his wife, especially with a student.
asserted
he → testify → student
Mr. Beddoes asked Mr. Galloway if he kept having sexual relationships with students, bringing up the fact that his current wife, screenwriter Katie Wagner, met him while attending the creative-writing program.
asserted
wife → ask → program
But Mr. Galloway said she had not been a student for “well over a year” when they got together.
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they → say → year
The original defamation suit included almost two dozen defendants, most of whom settled.
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most → include → whom
Only A.B. and three others remain: Mandi Gray, Dana Kagis and Glynnis Kirchmeier.
asserted
A.B. → remain → ?
Lawyers for the defendants will resume their cross-examination of Mr. Galloway on Tuesday.
asserted
Lawyers → resume → Tuesday
The Aporia
