Writers pull out of Bendigo Writers Festival ahead of opening

Several authors have confirmed they will no longer be appearing at the Bendigo Writers Festival (BWF), due to take place this weekend, reported Crikey.

Authors Randa Abdel-Fattah, Evelyn Araluen, Maddison Griffiths, Jacinta Le Plastrier, Jess Hill, Claire G Coleman, Kate Mildenhall, Thomas Mayo, Cher Tan and Kate Larsen have withdrawn from the festival after receiving a code of conduct from organisers on Wednesday 13 August, two days before the festival was scheduled to begin.

The code of conduct follows La Trobe University’s Anti-Racism Plan, which uses the Universities Australia definition of antisemitism and Islamophobia, a definition that ‘has the potential to conflate criticism of Zionism as a political ideology with antisemitism,’ reported Crikey.

In a letter to City of Greater Bendigo venues and events manager Julie Amos, shared on Deepcut News, Abdel-Fattah wrote that the policy, ‘directly infringes on my right to speak as a Palestinian, as well as my freedom of speech and academic freedom’.

A letter from a spokesperson for Araluen was also shared, stating the code of conduct ‘directly infringes on Evelyn’s freedom of speech, her academic speech, her cultural duty as a First Nations woman and her obligation as someone with a large platform to speak out against oppression, which includes speaking out against Israel’s ongoing UN-defined genocide of the Palestinian people’.

BWF told Crikey, ‘For those participants making the choice to withdraw due to introducing a Code of Conduct, we respect their decision and thank them for their initial willingness to be part of the festival.

‘Although this does mean some changes to the festival program, we remain committed to delivering the festival in partnership with stakeholders and participants as best we can.’

The festival program had not been altered and the pages of the withdrawn authors remained live at the time of publication.

Category: Local news