Dozens of writers have withdrawn from Adelaide Writers’ Week in protest after Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah was removed from the programme, with organisers citing “cultural sensitivity” concerns following the Bondi attack in December.
By Friday, at least 47 participants had said they would no longer take part in the event, which runs as part of the Adelaide Festival, with the number later rising to more than 70 as the backlash continued to grow.
The boycott includes some of Australia’s most prominent literary voices, including veteran writer Helen Garner, award-winning novelist Michelle de Kretser, journalists Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, and authors Drusilla Modjeska and Melissa Lucashenko. Stella Prize-winning poet Evelyn Araluen has also withdrawn from the event, scheduled to run from February 28 to March 5.
Best-selling novelist Trent Dalton pulled out of a keynote appearance at Adelaide Town Hall, one of the festival’s few ticketed events, while ABC broadcasters David Marr and Jonathan Green confirmed they would no longer take part.
A wider group of commentators, journalists and public figures have also stepped away, among them Jane Caro, Peter FitzSimons, Cheek Media co-founder Hannah Ferguson, journalist and academic Peter Greste, First Nations scholar Chelsea Watego, political analyst Amy Remeikis and economist and author Yanis Varoufakis.
Authors Bri Lee and Madeleine Gray said they would only reconsider their participation if Abdel-Fattah were reinstated.
Abdel-Fattah, a Macquarie University academic, had been scheduled to return to the festival this year after appearing on multiple panels in 2023.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the festival board said it had concluded it would “not be culturally sensitive to continue to programme her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi”.
The board said it did not suggest “in any way” that Abdel-Fattah or her work was connected to the attack, but said the decision was informed by her past public statements.
The fallout has since widened, with the Adelaide Festival facing a leadership crisis after three board members resigned over the weekend. Journalist Daniela Ritorto, Adelaide businesswoman Donny Walford and lawyer Nick Linke stepped down following the board’s decision to remove Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 Writers’ Week programme.
However, the decision has been defended by South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, who said over the weekend that the festival had previously removed a Jewish writer from its programme in similar circumstances.
However, correspondence seen by The Guardian Australia shows the Adelaide Festival board did not cancel New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s appearance at Writers’ Week in 2024, despite a request from Abdel-Fattah and nine other academics that his invitation be rescinded following a controversial column.
In a letter dated February 9, 2024, the board rejected the request, citing its commitment to artistic freedom of expression. Friedman had been scheduled to appear online from New York, but did not ultimately take part due to last-minute scheduling issues, rather than a decision by the board to remove him.
Abdel-Fattah has rejected accusations of hypocrisy, saying the two cases were not comparable. She said the request to remove Friedman was based on concerns about dehumanising language, while her own removal was linked to her identity and political views as a Palestinian.
Not all invited speakers have withdrawn. Former New South Wales premier and federal foreign minister Bob Carr said he would remain on the programme. He said the festival had a strong history of engaging Palestinian perspectives and that the board’s decision was reasonable given the circumstances.
Iranian-Australian author Shokoofeh Azar also confirmed her participation, saying literary festivals should remain spaces for dialogue and the presentation of multiple viewpoints.
As organisers respond to the boycott, the festival has temporarily removed parts of its website listing scheduled speakers and events, saying the move reflects the number of recent withdrawals and continuing programme revisions.
