‘Deeply regrettable’: Adelaide Writers’ Week officially abandoned
Adelaide Festival has confirmed the country’s only free literary festival has been scrapped in 2026, with remaining board members resigning. The writer at the centre of it all says “I am not the story. Palestine is.”
The Adelaide Festival has issued an apology to Randa Abdel-Fattah but has not reversed its decision to rescind her invitation to Writers’ Week, instead letting the festival crumble – on Tuesday afternoon, announcing the renowned literary festival is now cancelled for 2026.
After days of silence, the remaining board members released a statement saying “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”.
“Many authors have since announced they will no longer appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026 and it is the Adelaide Festival’s position that the event can no longer go ahead as scheduled for this year. This is a deeply regrettable outcome,” the statement read.
“We recognise and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused to our audience, artists and writers, donors, corporate partners, the government and our own staff and people.
“We also apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented and 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.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Abdel-Fattah posted to social media that she was exhausted and referred all to a statement saying, “Please remember that the genocide of Palestinians continues and that all of this is a smokescreen. I am not the story. Palestine is”.
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“Because I have too much respect for myself and my people, for those who have suffered irreparable harm by the board’s conduct, for the brilliant Louise Adler who was forced on principle to resign, I refuse and reject the board’s apology,” the statement said.
“It is clear that the board’s regret extends to how the message of my cancellation was conveyed, not the decision itself.”
Tumultuous days have followed the decision, with more than 100 writers announcing they would no longer attend the event. On Tuesday morning, Writers’ Week director Louise Adler officially resigned, saying the event was the “canary in the coalmine” around free speech.
The board chair Tracey Whiting resigned, along with three other board members over the weekend.
It was unclear how the festival organisation would continue after the decision as the board said the focus was now “on ensuring a successful Adelaide Festival proceeds in a way which safeguards the long and rich cultural legacy of our state but also protects the hardworking staff delivering this important event”.
“With this in mind all remaining members of the Adelaide Festival Board will today step down – with the exception of Adelaide City Council representative whose term expires on 2 February 2026 – to allow for an orderly transition to a new Board to secure the success of the 2026 Adelaide Festival and beyond.”
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The festival board statement said it was “committed to rebuilding trust with our artistic community and audience to enable open and respectful discussions at future Adelaide Writers’ Week events”.
SA Greens leader Robert Simms has called on the state government to provide financial support to those impacted by the loss of the festival.
“Writers’ Week is one of the jewels in the crown of Adelaide’s arts program. This will have a significant economic effect, particularly at a time where the state is already reeling from the economic impact of the algal bloom,” Simms said.
“Last year, around 160,000 people attended Writers’ Week. The effects of axing this festival will be felt right across the arts sector and also by many city businesses. The Premier should consider a support package.
“By inserting himself into programming decisions, the Premier opened the Pandora’s Box and unleashed catastrophe on Writers’ Week and the Adelaide Festival. This was a catastrophic error of judgement. This is his mess, and he needs to clean it up.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas has consistently denied political interference, saying he had “never intervened or directed the board, and nor should I, in fact, as a matter of law, I can’t” but that he made it clear he supported the decision to remove Abdel-Fattah.
“I’ve done everything I can for this organisation as Premier. I’ve given a lot more money to the festival. But what they do and how they run themselves, that’s up to them,” Malinauskas said on Tuesday morning, before the cancellation announcement.
Simms said the government “must now urgently appoint an independent reviewer with expertise in the arts to examine what has occurred here and make recommendations for reform”.
“This can never be allowed to happen again,” Simms said.
Speaking to ABC Radio, former Writers’ Week director Jo Dyer asked: “who is going to mop up the financial carnage?”
The Premier has been contacted for comment.
