In Conversation with Randa Abdel-Fattah

Join us at the Nowra School of Arts for a powerful and timely conversation with Dr

Randa Abdel-Fattah, award-winning Australian author, lawyer, sociologist and human

rights advocate as she discusses her 2025 novel Discipline, a compelling exploration of

censorship, conscience and the cost of silence in academia and the media against the

backdrop of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Discipline uses fiction to probe urgent

questions about the ethics of speaking up, the power dynamics of storytelling, and how

societies respond when voices are marginalised.

Dr Abdel-Fattah’s scheduled appearance at the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week became

a flashpoint in national debates about freedom of expression after the Adelaide Festival

board withdrew her invitation on “cultural sensitivity” grounds, sparking the withdrawal

of hundreds of authors and the eventual cancellation of the festival, an episode that

foregrounded deep tensions within Australia over free speech, cultural inclusion, and

political pressure in the arts.

In this conversation, Randa Abdel-Fattah will reflect not only on her literary work but

also on the broader implications of these cultural conflicts for civil liberties in Australia

with a focus on how debates about Palestine, censorship and dissent are playing out in

public life, particularly in New South Wales and beyond.

We’ll also touch on the invitation of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia a

controversial diplomatic event that drew national protests, raised questions about

solidarity, censorship, and asylum for dissenting voices, and highlighted the fault lines

in Australia’s public discourse on genocide, international law and community cohesion.

This is an unmissable event for anyone interested in literature, human rights, freedom of

expression, and the intersection of storytelling with global and local politics.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Shoalhaven Friends of Palestine