Adelaide's writers' week has been left in tatters after a row over a Palestinian Australian academic's inclusion sparked a global backlash. The Adelaide Writers' Week festival was cancelled last week amid mass resignations and allegations of racism, with its director Louise Adler quitting the board over a dispute.
The dispute began when Tony Berg, a former managing director of Macquarie Bank and Boral, accused the festival's leadership of promoting a "blatantly one-sided" mission that had traded open debate for a "vendetta against Israel and Zionism". Berg, who is a self-described Zionist, claimed that Adler and the festival's top leadership had ignored concerns about the inclusion of certain speakers and had instead prioritised the interests of a small group.
Adler denied the allegations, but Berger said she was "spewing anti-Zionism" through her choice of speakers. The row escalated when Adler announced that she would be pulling out of the 2026 festival, citing the pressure to self-censor as an unbearable burden.
The backlash against the festival intensified when Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand prime minister, pulled out of the event, followed by more than 70 literary luminaries who announced they were boycotting the 2026 festival. The Australian Institute also withdrew its partnership and sponsorship.
On Sunday, the festival's board issued an open letter demanding the reinstatement of Palestinian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, who had been cancelled from the 2026 program due to scheduling issues. The letter was signed by a number of prominent figures in the arts world.
However, when the new board met on Tuesday it voted to publicly apologise to Abdel-Fattah and promise her a gig at next year's festival. A statement released later that day said the cancellation of this year's event was "tragically irretrievable".
The premier, Peter Malinauskas, has been accused of trying to silence Abdel-Fattah by drawing comparisons between her views on Israel and the Bondi terror attack, which killed 15 people in January. The comparison sparked outrage among many, with Abdel-Fattah accusing the premier of "vicious bullying" and lies.
The cancellation of this year's festival has been seen as a loss for free speech and intellectual discourse in Adelaide.
The dispute began when Tony Berg, a former managing director of Macquarie Bank and Boral, accused the festival's leadership of promoting a "blatantly one-sided" mission that had traded open debate for a "vendetta against Israel and Zionism". Berg, who is a self-described Zionist, claimed that Adler and the festival's top leadership had ignored concerns about the inclusion of certain speakers and had instead prioritised the interests of a small group.
Adler denied the allegations, but Berger said she was "spewing anti-Zionism" through her choice of speakers. The row escalated when Adler announced that she would be pulling out of the 2026 festival, citing the pressure to self-censor as an unbearable burden.
The backlash against the festival intensified when Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand prime minister, pulled out of the event, followed by more than 70 literary luminaries who announced they were boycotting the 2026 festival. The Australian Institute also withdrew its partnership and sponsorship.
On Sunday, the festival's board issued an open letter demanding the reinstatement of Palestinian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, who had been cancelled from the 2026 program due to scheduling issues. The letter was signed by a number of prominent figures in the arts world.
However, when the new board met on Tuesday it voted to publicly apologise to Abdel-Fattah and promise her a gig at next year's festival. A statement released later that day said the cancellation of this year's event was "tragically irretrievable".
The premier, Peter Malinauskas, has been accused of trying to silence Abdel-Fattah by drawing comparisons between her views on Israel and the Bondi terror attack, which killed 15 people in January. The comparison sparked outrage among many, with Abdel-Fattah accusing the premier of "vicious bullying" and lies.
The cancellation of this year's festival has been seen as a loss for free speech and intellectual discourse in Adelaide.
... Can't believe they cancelled the whole thing due to some drama over a Palestinian academic 
. It's like they caved under pressure from the "backlash" 
. I mean, who decides that certain opinions are too sensitive for public discussion? 
And now they're apologizing and promising to give her a spot next year, but it's already too late... The damage is done 
. Free speech is all about having tough conversations, not avoiding them because of the risk of offending some people 
.
just saw what happened at Adelaide Writers' Week and it's like 
they cancelled the whole thing because some people were mad about one speaker being included 
it's not fair to make someone be cancelled just because you don't agree with them 
it's like he thinks being quiet about some people's views makes him cool 
nope, doesn't work that way 
it's what makes life interesting 
. It sounds like they got caught up in politics instead of focusing on bringing people together through literature 
. 
The festival was all about open debate and discussion, but instead it got derailed by accusations of racism 
. We need more of those kind of events in our lives! 
i feel like that's exactly what happened here. the writers' week festival got cancelled because there was a big fight between different groups with opposing views, kinda like how groups of students have different opinions on which party to support or whose policies are better 
. now the festival is all messed up and nobody knows what's gonna happen next 
. And now Adelaide's Writers' Week is basically gone... that's a shame 
, but yeah, the comparison to the Bondi terror attack was definitely low-key tone-deaf 
. It's like, can't we all just have an open conversation about different perspectives without it turning into a big mess? 
I mean, I get that Tony Berg had some concerns, but the way it escalated... wow! 
... with more diversity of speakers and some actual debate 
!
. And yeah, maybe Berg wasn't the best person to speak up about this stuff 
, but it doesn't excuse the backlash that followed.
. But now it looks like they're just going to regroup and try again in 2026 
. Fingers crossed they can do better next time 
? Last year, it saw a record-breaking 40% increase in ticket sales compared to the previous year 
. But all of that goes out the window now 
: 
.
. Did you know that the hashtag #AdelaideWritersWeek has seen a 500% increase on Twitter in the past week? 
. And I'm loving all the support from authors and literary figures around the world 
!
. Adelaide's Writers' Week needs to get its act together before I start boycotting too 
.
.
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I'm not buying it, mate! There's more to this story than meets the eye 
.
. It's like, we should be trying to create spaces for more diverse voices, not making excuses when things go wrong 
.
.