Some 90 participants, including key national and international guests such as Helen Garner, Toni Jordan, Trent Dalton, Melissa Lucashenko and Zadie Smith, have withdrawn in protest from Adelaide Writers Week, a core program of the 2026 Adelaide Festival, after the Festival Board’s decision yesterday [8 January] to remove award-winning Palestinian-Australian author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from the Writers Week program.
‘As the Board responsible for the Adelaide Festival organisation and all Adelaide Writers’ Week events, staff, volunteers and participants, we have today [8 January] advised scheduled writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah that the Board has formed the judgment that we do not wish to proceed with her scheduled appearance at next month’s Writers’ Week,’ the Board’s statement read in part.
