VANCOUVER – Author and former University of B.C. creative writing chair Steven Galloway says there was no prohibition on sexual relationships between students and faculty, and he knows of “numerous instances” of similar relationships in the university’s faculty of arts. 

The trial, where the bestselling author alleges defamation over unproven sexual assault allegations, entered its fifth day in B.C. Supreme Court with the lawyer for the main defendant telling Galloway that his cross-examination would not be a “tea party.” 

Arden Beddoes questioned Galloway about a voice mail he left for the woman identified only as A.B. in November 2015, offering an apology, saying he was ashamed and was working to be a better person and “turn over a new leaf.” 

Galloway told the court that he is ashamed for having an affair with the student and cheating on his wife, but he didn’t think he would be fired for violating the university’s conflict of interest policy. 

He told the court that no other faculty members had ever been terminated for similar conduct, though he says he should not have cheated on his wife, let alone with a student. 

Beddoes asked Galloway if he kept having sexual relationships with students, bringing up his current wife and fellow writer Katie Wagner, but Galloway said she had not been a student for “well over a year” when they got together. 

The court heard how Galloway had repeatedly called both A.B. and fellow faculty member Keith Maillard in November 2015, after receiving an email where the woman, a former student several years his senior, had described feeling at risk and “unsafe.” 

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Beddoes suggested the numerous calls were him “panicking,” but Galloway said he wanted to tell Maillard, a mentor and “father figure,” about the affair himself, knowing his longtime friend would be disappointed. 

Galloway’s defamation lawsuit against A.B. and others was originally filed in 2018, and the author of “The Cellist of Sarajevo” alleges his career was destroyed by allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies and were found unsubstantiated by a former B.C. Supreme Court judge. 

Several people originally named as defendants have settled with Galloway and offered public apologies, and A.B., whose name is under a publication ban, is not testifying in the case due to mental health struggles related to the lawsuit. 

The court heard this week that her defence no longer includes an assertion she was assaulted, but rather that she reported the alleged assaults. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.