World-renowned writers' festival cancelled in wake of escalating controversy

Australian Community Media

Days of scandal saw 180 writers pull out of attending the event, which was meant to be held in South Australia February 28 to March 5, 2026. This video includes ACM-produced voiceover powered by AI.

Transcript

00:00Adelaide Writers Week 2026 has been officially cancelled. It follows a mass boycott of the

00:07event by invited authors in response to the rescinding of an invitation to Palestinian

00:12Australian writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. Days of scandal saw 180 writers pull out of attending

00:21the event, which was meant to be held in South Australia from February 28th to March 5th,

00:272026. The writers said they would stand in solidarity against the perceived censorship

00:34of Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has been a vocal opponent of Israel.

00:39I was cancelled in an email based on my presence being a trigger and being framed as culturally

00:46insensitive in a direct link to the Bondi terrorist atrocity. That is racism.

00:53On January 8th, the Writers' Festival Board put out a statement explaining the rescinding

00:59of Abdel-Fattah's invitation by saying it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to

01:05program the author at this unprecedented time, so soon after Bondi, referencing the terror

01:13attack where 15 people were killed during a Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. Following

01:19the cancellation of the event, the Board released a statement saying we took this action out of

01:25respect for a community experiencing the pain from a devastating event. Instead, this decision has

01:33created more division and for that we express our sincere apologies. The Adelaide Festival Board

01:41apologised to Abdel-Fattah for, quote, how the decision was represented. The statement read,

01:49we also apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented and reiterate this is not

01:57about identity or dissent, but rather a continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the

02:05breadth of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia's worst terror attack in history.

02:13In a post to Instagram, Abdel-Fattah said she rejected the Board's apology. She said,

02:19it is clear that the Board's regret extends to how the message of my cancellation was conveyed,

02:26not the decision itself. But I think this is a landmark, a watershed moment in the history of

02:32Adelaide Writers Week. In the furore, former Festival Board Chairperson Louise Adler resigned.

02:40Adler is a member of the Jewish Council of Australia's Advisory Committee and is herself the

02:46daughter of Holocaust survivors. In an open letter, Adler said, the Adelaide Festival Board's decision,

02:54despite my strongest opposition, to disinvite the Australian-Palestinian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah

03:01from Adelaide Writers Week, weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation,

03:09where lobbying and political pressure determine who gets to speak and who doesn't.

03:14I think when we look back on this history, we will see a masterclass in poor governance,

03:23an act of cultural vandalism, a moment when 180 writers said we will not support censorship,

03:31we will not support the denigration of one particular writer.

03:38The South Australian Government has since announced the reappointment of the past

03:43chairperson, Judy Potter, who had previously led the board from 2016 to 2023.

03:50So that we can ensure that the 27 Writers Week will be full,

03:55beautiful and down in that park in all its glory.

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