An Australian Palestinian author dumped from a writers’ festival has been invited back next year after the organisers issued a grovelling apology.

Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah was uninvited from the Adelaide Writers’ Week amid concerns over ‘cultural sensitivity’ in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.

Dr Abdel-Fattah had been criticised for past anti-Zionist comments, including the statement: ‘If you are a Zionist you have no claim or right to cultural safety.’ 

The decision to dump her sparked a mass exodus of the festival’s talent, with more than 180 writers and commentators, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ABC’s Sarah Ferguson, pulling out.

Adelaide Festival confirmed on Tuesday the event had been axed and would not be going ahead in February, and the entire board of directors would step down. 

The corporation has now reversed its previous decision to exclude Dr Abdel-Fattah and retracted its earlier statement.

‘We apologise to Dr Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm the Adelaide Festival Corporation has caused her,’ the statement read.

‘Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short.’ 

Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah (pictured) was uninvited from the Adelaide Writers’ Week last week

On social media, Dr Abdel-Fattah accepted the apology and said she would consider the board’s invitation to participate in the 2027 festival.

Dr Abdel-Fattah said the episode highlights the ‘profound lack of racial literacy’ in public institutions and the need for urgent anti-racism education. 

‘I accept this apology as acknowledgement of our right to speak publicly and truthfully about the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people,’ she wrote.

‘I accept this apology as a vindication of our collective solidarity and mobilisation against anti-Palestinian racism, bullying and censorship.

‘I accept this unreserved apology as acknowledgment of the harm inflicted on our communities.

‘Whilst AF’s statement acknowledges the harm done, it is not a quick fix to repair the damage and injury inflicted.’  

New Adelaide Festival Board chair Judy Potter also apologised to Director Louise Adler after the program she had worked so hard to curate for 2026 was cancelled. 

Ms Adler’s resignation was just one of many departures, with half of the board having resigned over the weekend. 

Sarah Ferguson was among the talent that dropped out of the festival

‘We acknowledge the principled stand she took in the extremely difficult decision to resign from her role as Director,’ Ms Potter said. 

‘Louise is a revered figure of Australian literature who we hold in the highest regard.’ 

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has also denied accusations he pressured the board to cancel Dr Abdel-Fattah’s appearance.

Dr Abdel-Fattah slammed the board after it was revealed she had been uninvited.

‘The Bondi terrorist attack was abhorrent and horrifying,’ she said.

‘Yet it is astonishing to see the Board’s erasure of terrorist attacks against First Nations’ peoples in Australia, as well as the erasure of the Australian-perpetuated terrorist attack in Christchurch.

‘This is not about oppression Olympics, but truthful reckoning with the violence of this colony and understanding the connections between violence not the exceptions.’

Dr Abdel-Fattah continued: ‘And this is why it is never more important to understand that whilst this was all triggered by a blatant act of anti-Palestinian racism against me as an individual person, it is clear that settler colonial and white supremacist violence against one marginalised person represents violence against all marginalised people.’