Internationally acclaimed author Min Jin Lee will headline the opening night of Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027, with the Pachinko author set to discuss her much-anticipated new novel, American Hagwon.
Lee will appear at Adelaide Town Hall on 26 February 2027 as part of a national tour, in conversation with The Monthly editor and former Sydney Writers’ Festival Artistic Director Michael Williams.
The event marks the return of Adelaide Writers’ Week after the 2026 festival was cancelled amid a major crisis over artistic freedom and the removal of Palestinian-Australian author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from the program.
The 2027 edition of Adelaide Writers’ Week, which runs as part of Adelaide Festival, will be the first to be overseen by new director Rosemarie Wilson.
Adelaide Writers’ Week 2027 – quick links
Min Jin Lee returns with American Hagwon
Lee is best known for her 2017 novel Pachinko, which became an international bestseller, was a finalist for the National Book Award and was named among The New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. It was subsequently adapted into an acclaimed Apple TV+ series.
American Hagwon is Lee’s first novel since Pachinko, and the third book in her exploration of the Korean diaspora.
Spanning Korea, Australia and the United States, the novel follows the Koh family after the 1997 Asian financial crisis transforms their lives, sending them from Seoul to Sydney and eventually California.
At the novel’s heart is a question of how much people are prepared to give up in the pursuit of security and success, examining family expectations, ambition, migration and changing ideas about what constitutes a good life.
Adelaide Writers’ Week director Rosemarie Milsom said Lee’s appearance presented an ‘extraordinary opportunity’ for Australian readers and was an appropriate way to launch the festival’s return.
‘Min Jin Lee takes the forces that shape our lives – history, migration, family expectation and identity – and helps us understand them through characters we come to care about deeply,’ Milsom said.
‘Pachinko introduced millions of readers around the world to a history that had too often been overlooked. With American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee has again created an expansive family story, but one that feels urgently connected to the questions many of us are asking about what constitutes a good life and what we are prepared to sacrifice for the people we love.’
Adelaide Writers’ Week looks to rebuild trust
The announcement comes after an extraordinary year for Adelaide Writers’ Week.
The 2026 festival was cancelled in January after a series of events that began with the Adelaide Festival Board rescinding Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to appear, citing concerns about cultural sensitivity in the wake of the December 2025 Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
Abdel-Fattah responded with a public statement, condeming the Adelaide Festival Board’s decision as ‘a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship’.
The decision triggered a mass boycott, with more than 180 authors and participants withdrawing from the festival. Writers’ Week director Louise Adler subsequently resigned, saying she could not be party to silencing writers, before the majority of the board also stepped down and the event itself was cancelled. A new umbrella festival titled Constellations: Not Writers’ Week popped up to fill the void left in the aftermath.
A new board was appointed in January, and their first public statement apologised for the actions of their predecessors, saying: ‘Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short.’
In April, Milsom was appointed as Writers’ Week director for a three-year term, replacing Adler.
Adelaide Festival Chair Judy Potter welcomed Milsom’s appointment to lead Adelaide Writers’ Week into a new era, saying: ‘Rosemarie is an outstanding advocate for writers, with a strong understanding of the cultural conversations shaping Australian literature today.’
A former journalist and broadcaster, Milsom is the long-serving founding director of Newcastle Writers Festival, and also serves on the steering committee of the Global Association of Literary Festivals.
The Adelaide Festival has reiterated that rebuilding trust with supporters is a priority as Adelaide Writers’ Week heads towards its 2027 return.
‘I’m aware of the importance of rebuilding trust with all our supporters. I’ve been listening carefully and have approached the program with a genuine openness to different ideas and experiences,’ said Milsom, in a statement shared to the festival’s website.
‘Strong storytelling is what inspires me as a reader – and a curator. In the coming months we’ll be announcing an extraordinary line-up of Australian and international writers, and I can’t wait to welcome you all back to the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden.’
