Louise Adler has resigned as director of Adelaide Writers' Week, accusing the Adelaide Festival board of 'cultural vandalism' after it rescinded an invitation to Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah. In an opinion piece for Guardian Australia, Adler stated she 'cannot be party to silencing writers'.
Adler's resignation follows the board's decision to drop Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 program, citing community cohesion. Adler condemned the move as a threat to free speech, saying it 'weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation where lobbying and political pressure determine who gets to speak'.
Since the cancellation, over 180 writers and commentators have withdrawn from the festival, including Jacinda Ardern, Zadie Smith, Percival Everett, and Helen Garner. The festival board has also shrunk, with four of seven voting members resigning, including chair Tracey Whiting.
Adler criticised the board's justification, calling 'social cohesion' a 'managerialist term intended to stop thinking'. She linked the decision to broader issues in Australian arts, citing similar controversies at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Creative Australia, and the Bendigo Writers' Festival.
Seventeen former Adelaide Festival leaders, including nine past artistic directors, signed a letter condemning the decision. Director Barrie Kosky separately wrote to the South Australian premier demanding Abdel-Fattah's reinstatement. Abdel-Fattah described Adler's resignation as 'a tragedy', noting Adler is a Jewish anti-Zionist woman whose identity was 'erased'.
