The Sydney Writers’ Festival has announced that Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah will headline its 2026 program — a decision that lands with particular weight as the local literary landscape continues to reverberate from the cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week earlier this year.
Just weeks ago, Adelaide’s festival was called off following a mass boycott of around 180 writers after Abdel-Fattah was removed from its line-up. Now, the country's largest literary event has confirmed its invitation to the Palestinian-Australian academic and author.
“A festival like ours, which holds freedom of expression as a core value, is not going to be in the business of cancelling or censoring writers,” chief executive Brooke Webb said, per the Sydney Morning Herald. Artistic director Ann Mossop added that Abdel-Fattah, who was invited last October to discuss her adult fiction debut, Discipline, is “a significant Sydney writer with a new book that speaks to the here and now. Sydney is a highly diverse city, and we aim to reflect the many and varied communities of writers and readers in our program.”
The novel, set in Sydney during Ramadan in 2021, follows two Palestinians as they grapple with questions of silence and complicity amid the bombardment of Gaza. Abdel-Fattah will appear in two sessions within a program of roughly 200 events.
So, what else do we know about Australia's largest writer's festival? All the important details, below.
Who is on the 2026 SWF program?
Besides Abdel-Fattah, we still have a few weeks to wait until the official program is here. Its dropping on March 10, 2026.
You’ll be able to pick up a free copy of the program in full from bookstores and libraries across the city, or browse the lineup online.
When and where is it?
This year, the festival will return to Carriageworks and Sydney Town Hall, plus several venues across the city. It will take place from 17–24 May, 2026.
How can I get tickets?
Tickets are not yet on sale, but will kick off with a pre-sale from Friday 13 March.
To purchase tickets or find more ticketing information like pricing, box office hours and bundle deals, visit the Sydney Writer's Festival website.
Feature image via Instagram.
