Randa Abdel-Fattah to appear at Sydney Writers’ Festival after Adelaide cancellation

Randa Abdel-Fattah will feature in the program at the Sydney Writers’ Festival despite Premier Chris Minns calling her inclusion in a separate event a “head scratcher”.

The Palestinian-Australian author made headlines earlier this year after she was removed by the Adelaide Writers’ Week board from its 2026 line-up due to “cultural sensitivity” following the Bondi Beach terror attack, prompting a mass boycott by participants and ultimately the cancellation of the event.

Abdel-Fattah has since been reinvited to the 2027 event as well as a separate Adelaide writers event and the Newcastle Writers Festival.

On Wednesday, the Sydney Writers’ Festival – Australia’s largest with more than 100,000 attendees in 2025 – announced it would include Abdel-Fattah in the May event.

In a joint statement from chief executive Brooke Webb and artistic director Ann Mossop, the pair noted Abdel-Fattah was invited in October to discuss her novel Discipline and would feature in “two sessions within a program of around 200 events”.

“Randa is a significant Sydney writer with a new book that speaks to the here and now,” the statement noted.

“Sydney is a highly diverse city, and the festival aims to reflect the many and varied communities of writers and readers in its program.

“A festival like ours, which holds freedom of expression as a core value, is not in the business of cancelling or censoring writers. We think a writers festival provides a rare and welcome opportunity for readers and writers to come together for nuanced conversations about complex and sometimes difficult topics.”

The statement noted that organisers respected that “public figures and members of the community may hold different views”.

“They are entitled to do so. Sydney Writers’ Festival is always in regular conversation with its major stakeholders, including government, and remains an independent organisation that programs accordingly,” the statement read.

Asked if Abdel-Fattah was headlining, a spokesperson said she was “one author among 250+ featured in the 2026 program”.

“She is speaking at two events in a program of 200+ literary events,” they said.

Abdel-Fattah stoked controversy in recent years over comments about Israel’s war in Gaza, notably a statement that Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”.

She has repeatedly denied the statements were anti-Semitic and has sought to clarify them.

Despite finding support among state and federal Labor MPs, Mr Minns earlier described her inclusion in the Newcastle Writers’ Festival as a “head scratcher”.

“What I’d say about the inclusion of that author is I don’t know why these organisations do it. It’s a real head scratcher for me,” he said.

“I think they’re crazy to invite that author when you think about how divisive it is and how difficult it would be for the organisation as a result of the notoriety.”

Mr Minns said he did not expect Abdel-Fattah to be booted from the event or that a $250,000 festival grant would be reviewed.

Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence said at the time that it would be a “terrible injustice” if Abdel-Fattah was excluded from the event