Writers festival requires ‘complete self-censorship’ over Gaza war, academic claims, as speakers withdraw in protest

Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah among those to boycott Bendigo writers festival, arguing she cannot appear ‘as a Palestinian’ due to speaker code

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A number of authors and academics have withdrawn from this weekend’s Bendigo Writers festival over a speaker code that one says requires “complete self-censorship” over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Academic and author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, First Nations poet Dr Evelyn Araluen and Wiradjuri writer and poet Jeanine Leane are among those who have withdrawn from the festival over the code.