Australian writers’ festival cancelled after disinviting Palestinian author

One of Australia’s largest art festivals has axed its writers’ week amid a boycott by more than 180 authors and guests after the cancellation of Randa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent Palestinian-Australian author and scholar.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the Adelaide Festival’s board said its “decision has created more division and for that we express our sincere apologies”.

It also added that its three remaining board members would also be stepping down. Four board members - including the chairperson of the festival - had resigned over the weekend.

The board also added that it “apologise(d) to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented”. 

The decision, the board said, was “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".

The festival has been embroiled in controversy since it disinvited Abdel-Fattah last week, citing concerns about "cultural sensitivity" in the wake of the antisemitic attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in December, during which 15 people were killed.

The decision was criticised as “racist censorship”, and prompted authors and speakers - including former New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern, Percival Everett, Zadie Smith and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis - to drop out of the event. 

Many online also called for a boycott of the festival.

In a post on X at the time of her removal, Abdel-Fattah called the move “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism”, rejecting the association between her and the Bondi massacre.

By Monday, dozens of writers and a sponsor had withdrawn from the event. 

‘Disingenuous apology’ 

In a post on X on Tuesday, Abdel-Fattah said she “refuse(d) and rejecte(d) the board’s apology”.

“It is clear that the board’s regret extends to how the message of my cancellation was conveyed, not the decision itself,” she said, calling it “disengenuous”. 

“Once again, the Board citing the ‘national discourse’ for an action that specifically targets me, a Palestinian Australian Muslim woman, is explicitly articulating that I cannot be part of the national discourse, which is insulting and racist in the extreme. 

“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 – that is an obscene and absurd demand.”

Abdel-Fattah is a fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney and a former litigation lawyer. In addition to her academic publications, she has also published several award-winning novels and a picture book.

She is known for her research, essays, media appearances and op-ed writing across several topics, including Islamophobia, Palestine, the "war on terror", youth identity and social movement activism.

In 2025, she was one of 50 authors who boycotted the Bendigo writers' festival in the state of Victoria following censorship concerns, after a last-minute change to its code of conduct included a controversial definition of antisemitism.