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Three Adelaide Festival Board Members Quit After Author's Removal Triggers Mass Walkouts

Abdel-Fattah's lawyers demand the board specify its reasons.

Overview

  • Daniela Ritorto, Donny Walford and Nicholas Linke resigned from the Adelaide Festival board, with their names removed from the festival website following a crisis meeting.
  • Nearly 100 writers have withdrawn from Adelaide Writers' Week in protest, including Zadie Smith, Masha Gessen, Percival Everett and Yanis Varoufakis.
  • The board said removing Randa Abdel-Fattah was a matter of cultural sensitivity after the Bondi mass shooting, while stressing it did not link her or her work to the attack.
  • A letter from Marque Lawyers asks the board to identify the past statements it relied on, to preserve related communications, and notes the material may be required for litigation.
  • South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas backed the board's stance and acknowledged giving his opinion, as former festival leaders questioned the board’s current makeup and called for Abdel-Fattah’s reinstatement.