Three JdM authors have now withdrawn their participation from Adelaide Writers Week 2026, following Adelaide Festival Board’s decision to cancel Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah’s sessions, and citing anti-Palestinian Muslim racist nonsense as their excuse.
Jacinta and Danielle as literary agents will also not be attending the festival this year, and not for the foreseeable future while some unknown “sub-committee” is in charge of deciding “social cohesion” artist invitations – strangling free speech and perpetuating McCarthyist sycophancy and cowardice.
As agents, we are proud to stand with our creators and all of those in the Australian arts community who oppose this belittling of art and culture. And we support Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah, completely.
Please consider supporting every artist who has taken a stand against this oppression. From JdM, they include;
— Näku Dhäruk: The Bark Petitions : how the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy by Clare Wright
— Lyrebird by Jane Caro
— This Stays Between Us by Margot McGovern
And of course, in solidarity with; Discipline by Randa Abdel-Fattah
To see who else in the Australian and International books and publishing community are willing to stand up for humanity, truth and justice – visit Readers and Writers Against the Genocide on Instagram
We also call upon publishers to find their spines and speak up, alongside their artists.
In her withdrawal letter, Clare Wright said; “As a Jewish Australian, I am shocked and insulted that the Board could exploit the tragedy of Bondi to weaponise its much-loved and respected literary festival.”
Jane Caro stated; “I would like to send my support to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. I would also like to send my commiserations to the equally forthright director of the festival Dr Louise Adler, whose willingness to engage with a wide range of ideas courteously and respectfully is a hallmark of her career. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of everyone working to make the 2026 AWF the success it has always been. It must be devastating to watch all that hard work & enthusiasm crumble around their ears,” Caro concluded; “Authoritarianism is rising all around us. It thrives on controlling & squashing & censoring ideas it does not like. I refuse to participate in that.”
Finally, Margot McGovern wrote; “…I am deeply sorry to the students who would have attended my session with Hannah Kent. However, the title of that session is: I low-key love literature, now what? And my answer to those young readers is this: if you love and value literature, then you have a right and a responsibility to take an active role in shaping the future of Australia’s literary culture and its values, and to speak out when those values are under threat.”
Exactly.
