Randa Abdel-Fattah Recognized at SA Literary Awards Amid Support from Fellow Authors

Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah did not win a prize at the recent SA Literary Awards, but her influence was significant during Adelaide Writers’ Week. Multiple recipients acknowledged her in their speeches, including Micaela Sahhar, who won the Non-Fiction Award, and Michelle de Kretser, the Fiction Award winner.

Abdel-Fattah was nominated for both the Fiction prize, awarded to de Kretser, and the Premier’s Award, which went to poet Eileen Chong for her work *We Speak of Flowers*. Both Sahhar and de Kretser were among many authors who withdrew from the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week program following the decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to uninvite Abdel-Fattah, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the festival.

A new board later apologized to Abdel-Fattah, who will return to Adelaide for Writers’ Week 2027. De Kretser, whose novel *Theory & Practice* was set in 1980s Melbourne, expressed her admiration for the South Australian literary community during her acceptance speech, emphasizing the importance of supporting Abdel-Fattah.

Sahhar won the Non-Fiction Award for her debut book *Find Me at the Jaffa Gate*, which chronicles a Palestinian family's experiences. She stated that her platform would be used to speak politically, reflecting on challenges in Australia and expressing solidarity with Palestinian voices.

During her remarks, Sahhar highlighted her gratitude for the ceremony at the State Library of South Australia, noting it was the first one her father and aunt could attend. She emphasized that their lives predated the establishment of Israel and reinforced the notion of freedom connected to the plight of Palestinians.

Eileen Chong, who received the Premier’s Award, also voiced her solidarity with the Palestinian people and lamented the loss of poets and writers affected by ongoing conflicts. She humorously referred to herself as the “Glenn Close of Australian poetry,” noting her long career without a prior award win and celebrated the recognition of her poetry collection *We Speak of Flowers*.