Australian writers’ festival boss resigns after Palestinian author axed

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by John PowerJanuary 13, 2026 at 04:49 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Louise Adler, director of Adelaide Writers' Week in Australia, resigned after the festival board cancelled an appearance by Randa Abdel-Fattah, an Australian Palestinian author and activist. The cancellation, which Adler opposed, led to speaker withdrawals and board resignations. The board stated Abdel-Fattah's appearance would be "culturally insensitive" following a mass shooting at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in December 2025, where fifteen people were killed by gunmen inspired by ISIL (ISIS). Adler, in her resignation announcement, criticized the decision as a blow to free expression and a sign of increasing censorship. The controversy has significantly impacted the festival, leading to widespread disruption.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Joe McCarthy 30% ISIL (ISIS) 40% The Guardian 50% Bondi Beach 50% Israel 60% Australia 70% Adelaide Writers' Week ×280% Louise Adler ×490% Randa Abdel-Fattah ×590%

Keywords

adelaide writers' week 90% writers' festival 90% palestinian author 80% randa abdel-fattah 80% resignation 70% free expression 70% cancellation 70% board resignations 60% critic of israel 60% cultural sensitivity 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

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.

adelaide writers' week writers' festival palestinian author randa abdel-fattah resignation free expression cancellation board resignations critic of israel cultural sensitivity

Explore Full Topic Graph