DUBAI: The Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026, a milestone event in the Australian literary calendar, has been cancelled after more than 180 authors and speakers dropped out in protest at the decision to disinvite the Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah.
The Adelaide festival board announced that the event, which was scheduled to begin on Feb. 28, would no longer go ahead.
According to The Guardian on Tuesday, all the members of the board have resigned, with the exception of the Adelaide city council representative, whose term expires in February.
The decision to cancel the AWW entirely came five days after the board announced it had dropped Abdel-Fattah, citing “cultural sensitivities” after an attack at Bondi Beach, that resulted in the death of several people, including Jews.
On Tuesday, the board apologized to Abdel-Fattah “for how the decision was represented.”
“(We) reiterate this is not about identity or dissent but rather a continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia’s worst terror attack in history,” it added.
“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 board stated.
In a statement, Abdel-Fattah said she rejected the board’s apology, accusing it of being “disingenuous” and saying it “adds insult to injury.”
She added: “The board again reiterates the link to a terror attack I had nothing to do with, nor did any Palestinian.
“The Bondi shooting does not mean I or anyone else has to stop advocating for an end to the illegal occupation and systematic extermination of my people — this is an obscene and absurd demand.”
Several people were killed in last month’s shooting on Bondi Beach, where a Jewish Hanukkah celebration was also taking place.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed have been accused of opening fire at the famed surf beach, killing 15 people in a shooting spree reportedly inspired by the Daesh group.
