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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