Louise Adler resigns as director of Adelaide writers' week

"I cannot be party to silencing writers, so with a heavy heart I am resigning from my role as the director of the AWW. Writers and writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us. We need writers now more than ever, as our media closes up, as our politicians grow daily more cowed by real power, as Australia grows more unjust and unequal."

"The Adelaide festival board's decision despite my strongest opposition to disinvite Abdel-Fattah from the Adelaide writers' week weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation where lobbying and political pressure determine who gets to speak and who doesn't."

Louise Adler resigned as director of Adelaide Writers' Week in protest after the Adelaide Festival board disinvited Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 program. Adler said she could not be party to silencing writers and argued that writers remain essential as media contracts and political pressures grow. The disinvitation prompted about 180 writers, commentators and academics to withdraw, including Jacinda Ardern, Zadie Smith, Percival Everett and Helen Garner. Abdel-Fattah had faced criticism from the Coalition, Jewish groups and media over comments about Israel including alleging Zionists had no claim to cultural safety. Four of seven festival board voting members, including chair Tracey Whiting, resigned.

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