Randa Abdel-Fattah returns to Adelaide Writers’ Week after controversy that sparked festival collapse

Key points

• Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has accepted an invitation to appear at the 2027 Adelaide Festival. She was removed from the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week, an exclusion that prompted more than 140 writers to withdraw and led to the event’s cancellation.
• She will join Leïla Slimani in a ticketed event called Between the Lines, moderated by Jan Fran. Comedian Magda Szubanski is also on the program as she recovers from a blood cancer.
• The 2027 festival runs from February 26 to March 14 with 54 events.