The 2026 Adelaide Festival has been thrown into uncertainty after a wave of resignations at board level, triggered by a fast-moving boycott of the festival’s flagship literary program, Adelaide Writers’ Week. The crisis began with the removal of Palestinian-Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from the Writers’ Week line-up — a decision that split Australia’s arts community and sparked a public argument over principle, consistency and who gets a platform.
On Sunday, January 11, multiple outlets reported that the festival chair stepped down after three board members resigned following an emergency meeting. The resignations came as the boycott grew and as Abdel-Fattah’s legal representatives escalated pressure on the board, demanding clarity around the reasons for her disinvitation and calling for documents to be preserved in anticipation of possible legal action. Coverage of the resignations and the legal dispute was reported by The Guardian.
Why was Abdel-Fattah removed?
The Adelaide Festival board said the decision was made on “cultural sensitivity” grounds following the Bondi attack in late 2025. The board stressed it was not alleging Abdel-Fattah’s writing was connected to the tragedy, but argued the current climate had heightened concerns around community tensions. Abdel-Fattah rejected the justification, calling the decision discriminatory and saying it unfairly associated her identity and activism with violence.
What happens next: Writers’ Week is scheduled to run from February 28 to March 5, meaning organisers have limited time to rebuild the program if withdrawals continue. ABC reporting has outlined the timeline and the festival’s next steps as the boycott expands.
The boycott spreads — and the program starts to wobble
Within days of the announcement, a growing list of writers, journalists and public figures withdrew from the event, describing the board’s decision as censorship or an unacceptable intrusion into artistic programming. The scale of the walkout has been significant enough that the future shape of this year’s Writers’ Week has been openly questioned, including whether sessions can proceed as originally planned.
ABC News reported that former Adelaide Festival leaders described the exclusion as a “grave mistake” and urged the board to reinstate Abdel-Fattah, warning the decision could damage the festival’s standing and credibility. That open letter, signed by 11 former festival leaders, was detailed by ABC News.
“Hypocrisy” claims fuel the backlash
As the boycott gathered momentum, Jewish creatives and commentators argued the arts sector was applying standards unevenly — condemning exclusion when it affects a high-profile pro-Palestinian figure, while dismissing or minimising calls to bar Jewish or pro-Israel voices in earlier disputes.
A key flashpoint in the debate has been a 2024 controversy over calls to remove a Jewish writer from the same event. Critics have pointed to that episode to argue that some parts of the literary scene are comfortable with “cancellation” when it aligns with their politics, but treat it as an existential threat to free expression when the target is someone they support.
In other words, the argument is no longer only about one booking — it’s about whether cultural institutions and creative communities enforce their values consistently, and whether moral certainty is selectively deployed depending on who is being criticised.
Board resignations deepen the crisis
The resignation of three board members — followed by the chair stepping down — has intensified questions about governance at the festival. According to reporting in SBS News, the resignations occurred after a crisis meeting as the controversy escalated, and at least one departing member confirmed their exit but declined public comment.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that the resignations created a practical complication: the board may temporarily lack the required composition to make certain decisions, adding another layer of uncertainty at a time when swift action is needed to stabilise Writers’ Week and reassure partners, artists and audiences.
A bigger question: who decides what belongs on a festival stage?
At the heart of the Adelaide dispute is a familiar problem for cultural institutions: festivals want to be spaces for argument and imagination, but they also operate in real communities where safety, trust and social cohesion matter. When world events are raw and local tensions are heightened, boards and executives face intense pressure — from sponsors, politicians, media and audiences — to “do something”.
Supporters of the board’s decision argue organisers have a responsibility to reduce the risk of inflaming tensions in a moment of national trauma. Critics respond that “cultural sensitivity” can become a vague excuse that collapses debate, punishes dissenting viewpoints and invites political interference into the arts.
Either way, the Adelaide Festival now faces a test of legitimacy: can it rebuild confidence while defending the idea of a festival as a forum for difficult conversation? The answer will shape not only this year’s Writers’ Week program, but the broader Australian debate about free expression, cultural power and the lines institutions draw when politics and art collide.
Read more: Full coverage and updates are available via ABC News and The Guardian.
