Writers SA Constellations Festival
From 28 February to 5 March – the week left vacant by this year’s cancelled Adelaide Writers’ Week – the local writing community, including authors, booksellers and publishers, will come together with a range of events for readers and writers under a one-off umbrella festival, 'Constellations'.
The umbrella festival has been organised by a broad range of local representatives, including booksellers, publishers and authors, with not-for-profit industry body Writers SA acting as a central point of communication and logistics. It was initiated to show support for the writers and readers who withdrew from Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026 in protest at the previous Adelaide Festival board’s discriminatory decision to cancel the appearance of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. The new board has subsequently apologised to Dr Abdel-Fattah and invited her to speak in 2027.
Under the heading of Constellations, organisers are inviting bookshops, libraries, schools and other venues and community groups across both Adelaide and the rest of the state to register events and get involved. Participants can organise an event independently, or the group is happy to play matchmaker, putting interested venues and authors in touch to coordinate details as needed.
UQP Authors in attendance: Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, Peter Greste, Sara Haddad, Chelsea Watego
Constellations - Children's & YA Readers & Writers Day: Children’s Books as Activism In Conversation Panel Session
🕘 28 February, 2:00pm to 3:30pm (ACDT)
📍 The Exchange
Spend the day with a star-studded constellation of Children's & YA authors and illustrators.
In the age of AI our children and society in general need to hear stories that centre truth, reality and justice more than any other time in history. How do we harness the power of storytelling to support them as critical thinkers, while still protecting them from the chaos unfolding around them?
In Conversation Panel Session featuring Charlie Archbold, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Leila Boukrim (from Berlin, via Zoom) Lara Cain Grey and Sara Haddad. Chaired by Bethany Clark.
Read more and register here
Writers SA presents Untold: Publishing against the grain
🕘 1 March, 10:00am to 11:00am (ACDT)
📍 The Exchange
Publishers mediate a big slice of the public conversation - deciding what stories will reach readers and what will remain languishing on a hard drive. This panel of publishers, editors, and writers discuss the fight to bring stories that urgently need to be told to light, and the challenges often encountered along the way.
Participants: Alisa Ahmed, Hardie Grant Publishing, Michael Bollen, Wakefield Press and Sara Haddad. Chair Farrin Foster Splinter Journal
Read more and register here
In Conversation with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah and Louise Adler AM
🕘 1 March,6:00pm to 7:00pm (ACDT)
📍 Adelaide Town Hall
Multi-award winning author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah joins former Director of Adelaide Writers' Week and leading publisher Louise Adler AM for a timely conversation on power, dissent, and the cost of speaking out.
Read more and purchase your ticket here
Freedom of the press under threat
🕘 2 March,12:00pm to 1:00pm (ACDT)
📍 Adelaide Town Hall
Join world-renowned journalist Peter Greste and author and TV producer Michael Delahaye as they delve into an era where the boundary between "tweets and bombs" is increasingly blurred, and the freedom of speech is under threat everywhere, including in Australia.
Read more and reserve your spot here
Rivers of Reason: Blak & Arab Writers in Conversation
🕘 2 March, 2:30pm to 7:30pm (ACDT)
📍 Adelaide Town Hall
Blak and Arab writers and poets share stories of family, being on/with Country, and diaspora. Speaking of their literary work, they explore truth-telling, commonalities between communities, solidarity and aspirations for the future.
Read more and reserve your spot here
When We Refuse: Cultural boycotts, artist strikes and creative solidarity
🕘 5 March,5:30pm to 8:00pm (ACDT)
📍 Vitalstatistix, Port Adelaide
A panel discussion with Ren Wyld (author and poet), Violette Ayad (actor/writer/director), and Ronan Gallagher (musician, Musicians for Palestine). Facilitated by author Jennifer Mills.
