Adelaide writers’ week 2026 cancelled as board apologises to Randa Abdel-Fattah for ‘how decision was represented’ | Adelaide festival

Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026 has been canceled after days of unrest, with more than 180 writers and speakers leaving in protest at the decision to reject an invitation from Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah.

The Adelaide festival board announced on Tuesday afternoon that the event, which was scheduled to start on February 28, will no longer go ahead. The remaining three members of the festival board resigned immediately, following the resignations of four others, with the exception of the Adelaide city council representative whose term ended in February.

The decision to cancel AWW altogether comes five days after the festival board announced it had intervened to prevent Abdel-Fattah from attending the festival, citing “cultural sensitivities” following an attack on the Jewish community in Bondi.

On Tuesday, the board apologized to Abdel Fattah for how the decision was represented.

“[We] “Reiterate that this is not about identity or dissent, but rather an ongoing rapid shift in national discourse around the scope of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia’s worst terrorist attack in history,” he added.

“As a board, we took this action out of respect for a community suffering from a devastating event. Instead, this decision created further division, and for that we express our sincere apologies,” the board wrote in a statement Tuesday.

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“Many writers have announced that they will no longer be taking part in Adelaide Writers Week 2026 and Adelaide Festival is of the view that the event can no longer go ahead as planned for this year. This is an extremely regrettable outcome.

“We recognize and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused to our audiences, artists and writers, donors, corporate partners, government, our own staff and the public.”

In a statement, Abdel-Fattah said he rejected the festival management’s apology, accusing it of being “insincere” and saying it “adds insult to injury.”

“It is clear that the board’s regret stems not from the decision itself, but from the way my cancellation message was conveyed,” he wrote.

“Once again, the Board makes it clear that by invoking the ‘national discourse’ for an action specifically targeting me, a Palestinian Australian Muslim woman, I cannot be part of the national discourse, which is extremely derogatory and racist.

“The Board reiterates the connection to a terrorist attack in which I and any Palestinian have nothing to do. The shooting of Bondi does not mean that I or anyone else should stop advocating for an end to the illegal occupation and systematic extermination of my people; this is an obscene and absurd demand.”

The board’s statement came hours after AWW director Louise Adler announced her resignation in Guardian Australia, writing: “I cannot be party to silencing writers.”

Adler told Guardian Australia the AWW’s cancellation was “no surprise”.

“It was untenable,” he said. “There were 165 sessions and at around 4pm yesterday, there were only 12 events left with a full staff of writers. Seventy per cent of the writers had pulled out. You can’t put that back together. All those Australian writers, international writers, people like Zadie Smith, M Gessen, Jonathan Coe – all that hard work is gone.”

“I am deeply sorry that this master class in mismanagement has led us to this situation,” he added.

The Adelaide festival board said in a statement that the new board would focus on “ensuring that a successful Adelaide festival proceeds in a way that preserves our state’s long and rich cultural heritage, while also protecting the hard-working staff who deliver this important event”.

The absence of AWW from the Adelaide festival calendar has wider financial implications for the state that calls itself the “festival state”.

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has repeatedly denied influencing the board’s decision to sack Abdel Fattah, but said he had presented his “clear and plain” view to the board and supported the decision to keep him from the invitation.

In 2023, Malinauskas stated that it would set a “dangerous precedent” for the government to determine who would be allowed to speak at the festival, after some objected to Adler’s decision to invite Palestinian writer Susan Abulhawa.

“Just as Malinauskas had the right to object to Susan Abulhawa in 2023 and not attend her session, in my view he also had the right to object to Randa Abdel-Fattah and not attend her session,” Adler told Guardian Australia on Tuesday afternoon. “This is one of the joys of democracy.”

Malinauskas has been contacted for comment.