How Adelaide’s writers’ week collapse is shaping Australia’s major literary festivals

Australian literary festival collapses after axing Palestinian author

McCarthyite censorship leads 180 writers to withdraw from Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Jacinda Ardern's Adelaide Writers Festival Hypocrisy

Australia may have pulled out of hosting this year’s Commonwealth Games, but in the last fortnight it has been treated to a spectacular display of gymnastics, with astonishing backflips, double somersaults, contortions, and walkovers. The furore surrounding the storied Adelaide Writers Festival, the longest-running and largest literary festival in Australia and one that receives significant taxpayer funding, has made international headlines. Our…

How Adelaide’s writers’ week collapse is shaping Australia’s major literary festivals

The rancour surrounding the implosion of Adelaide Writers’ Week has meant all upcoming festivals in 2026 are risk-checking their programs.

Cultural “cohesion” becomes censorship, and a festival falls apart

Adelaide Writer’s Week was derailed after the withdrawal of an invited speaker, triggering mass author withdrawals and a board resignation. The episode raises hard questions about free speech, institutional courage, and the politics of Israel and Gaza in Australia’s cultural life.