How Australian festival imploded after axing Palestinian author

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 8 min read 100% complete January 13, 2026 at 04:28 AM

AI Summary

long article 8 min

The Adelaide Festival in Australia is in turmoil after disinviting Australian-Palestinian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah from its Writers' Week. The festival board cited "sensitivities" related to her past statements and the Bondi Beach attack in December, despite stating she had no connection to the tragedy. Abdel-Fattah condemned the decision as anti-Palestinian racism and censorship. In response, over 180 writers, including prominent figures like Jacinda Ardern and Zadie Smith, withdrew from the festival in protest, criticizing the decision as an attack on free speech. Subsequently, four board members, including the chair, resigned, along with the Writers' Week director who had invited Abdel-Fattah. The situation has raised concerns about the future of the festival and potential legal action.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Macquarie University 30% Helen Livingstone 40% Kathy Lette 40% Bondi Beach ×240% Zadie Smith 40% Masha Gessen 40% Helen Garner 40% Islamic State 40% Israel 50% Jacinda Ardern 50% Adelaide Festival ×480% Randa Abdel-Fattah ×690%

Keywords

palestinian author 90% festival 90% randa abdel-fattah 80% adelaide festival 80% free speech 70% writers 60% censorship 60% anti-palestinian racism 50% backlash 50% mass exodus 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

palestinian author festival randa abdel-fattah adelaide festival free speech writers censorship anti-palestinian racism backlash mass exodus

Explore Full Topic Graph