The Adelaide Festival board has taken the drastic step of cancelling its 2026 Writers' Week event entirely, following a wave of resignations and a mass boycott by authors. This unprecedented move comes in the wake of intense backlash over the board's decision to disinvite prominent Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the programme.
Board Intervention and Immediate Fallout
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the festival board confirmed the cancellation of the event, which was scheduled to begin in late February. The board also announced that almost all of its remaining members would resign, with the sole exception being the Adelaide City Council representative whose term expires next month.
This climactic decision arrived just five days after the board first revealed it had intervened to drop Randa Abdel-Fattah from her speaking engagement at the festival's Writers' Week. The board initially cited "cultural sensitivities" following the Bondi terror attack on the Jewish community as the reason for its action.
A Wave of Protest and Resignation
The board's original decision proved immediately and profoundly controversial. In protest, more than 180 authors and scheduled speakers withdrew from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week, rendering the event unviable. The director of Writers' Week, Louise Adler, also resigned publicly, stating in Guardian Australia that she "cannot be party to silencing writers."
In its Tuesday statement, the board acknowledged the severe consequences of its initial move. "As a Board we took this action out of respect for a community experiencing the pain from a devastating event. Instead, this decision has created more division and for that we express our sincere apologies," the statement read.
Apologies and a Focus on the Future
The board extended a specific apology to Dr. Abdel-Fattah, though notably focused on the communication of the decision rather than the decision itself. "We also apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented," the board said, adding that the issue was "not about identity or dissent" but rather a reaction to shifting discourse after "Australia’s worst terror attack in history."
With the cancellation of Writers' Week, the board stated that a new board would be tasked with ensuring the main Adelaide Festival proceeds. The focus, they said, would be on "safeguarding the long and rich cultural legacy of our state" and protecting the staff who deliver the event. The episode has sparked a major national conversation about censorship, freedom of expression, and the role of cultural institutions in times of conflict.
