Adelaide Writers' Week Cancelled After Author Randa Abdel-Fattah Disinvited

Adelaide Writers' Week has been cancelled, a major change from previous years. This is due to many authors leaving the event.
By Newsroom | Arts and Culture, Australia |

The Adelaide Writers' Week (AWW), a cornerstone event of the Adelaide Festival, has imploded. Citing the controversial disinvitation of author Randa Abdel-Fattah, a significant number of participants, reportedly over 180 authors, withdrew their involvement. This mass exodus, coupled with the resignation of the entire Adelaide Festival board and the AWW director, Louise Adler, led to the outright cancellation of the scheduled festival. In the wake of this unraveling, a decentralized, independent initiative called Constellations: Not Writers' Week emerged, drawing back many of the disaffected writers.

The core of the implosion rests on the Adelaide Festival board's decision to disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah, a vocal critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, from the literary event. This move, initially justified by the board as a matter of "cultural sensitivity" in the wake of a domestic tragedy, triggered widespread backlash.

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The Adelaide Festival board issued a statement expressing "sincere apologies" for the division created and specifically apologized to Abdel-Fattah "for how the decision was represented." The board's statement, released on January 13, 2026, attempted to frame the situation not as an issue of "identity or dissent," but rather as a response to a "continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression." However, this explanation did little to stem the tide of withdrawals.

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The controversy began when the board announced Abdel-Fattah was no longer invited, reportedly due to "her past statements." This decision, even prior to its public announcement, sparked dissent. Writers SA, an advocacy group for South Australian writers, was among the first organizations to withdraw support. Subsequently, a slew of high-profile authors, including Zadie Smith, Percival Everett, and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, publicly declared their withdrawal.

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Louise Adler, the director of Adelaide Writers' Week, resigned in protest, stating she "cannot be party to silencing writers." Adler, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, characterized the board's decision as a weakening of free speech, susceptible to "lobbying and political pressure." Following her resignation and the broader backlash, the remaining members of the festival board also stepped down, leading to the appointment of a new board to oversee the wider Adelaide Festival.

In the vacuum left by the AWW cancellation, a new literary gathering, Constellations: Not Writers' Week, took shape. This independent, decentralized festival was already in the nascent stages of formation before the AWW's collapse, drawing strength from the pre-existing discontent among authors regarding the treatment of Abdel-Fattah.

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Background Ripples

The initial decision to disinvite Abdel-Fattah was linked by the festival board to "past statements" and the prevailing atmosphere after a significant domestic tragedy, referencing an attack in Bondi. This linkage was met with criticism from groups like the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, which condemned any conflation of protests with such attacks as "irresponsible and misleading."

The board's original statement on January 8, 2026, articulated the view that programming Abdel-Fattah would not be "culturally sensitive" at such a time. This stance was contrasted with Abdel-Fattah's own assertion that advocacy for an end to what she termed the "illegal occupation and systematic extermination of my people" should not be silenced.

The wider Adelaide Festival, which typically runs concurrently with Writers' Week as part of the Adelaide Festival, has faced its own board upheavals. Multiple resignations preceded the cancellation, with the board structure undergoing significant changes in the lead-up to the literary event's demise.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why was Adelaide Writers' Week cancelled?
Adelaide Writers' Week was cancelled because over 180 authors withdrew their participation after author Randa Abdel-Fattah was disinvited from the event. The festival director and the entire festival board also resigned.
Q: Who is Randa Abdel-Fattah and why was she disinvited?
Randa Abdel-Fattah is an author who has made statements critical of Israel's actions in Gaza. The Adelaide Festival board decided to disinvite her, citing "past statements" and a need for "cultural sensitivity" after a domestic tragedy.
Q: What happened after the authors withdrew?
After the mass withdrawal of authors and the resignation of the director and board, the Adelaide Writers' Week was officially cancelled. Many of the writers who withdrew then joined a new independent initiative called Constellations: Not Writers' Week.
Q: What was the response from the Adelaide Festival board?
The Adelaide Festival board apologized to Randa Abdel-Fattah and stated the decision was not about identity but about a "rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression." However, this explanation did not prevent the festival's cancellation.
Q: What is Constellations: Not Writers' Week?
Constellations: Not Writers' Week is a new, independent literary gathering that emerged after the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week. It aims to bring together writers who were unhappy with the disinvitation of Randa Abdel-Fattah and the subsequent events.
Q: When did these events happen?
The Adelaide Festival board issued its statement on January 13, 2026, and the original statement regarding the disinvitation was on January 8, 2026. The cancellations and resignations followed these dates in early 2026.