Beloved international author makes Adelaide Writers’ Week debut in 2026

Zadie Smith, one of the most celebrated and important writers of the twenty-first century, is coming to Adelaide Writers’ Week. She will join Louise Adler, Director of Writers’ Week, in Adelaide University’s Bonython Hall for a conversation about why stories matter more than soundbites.

In one of her essay collections, Zadie writes:

I’m severely triggered by statements like ‘Chaucer is misogynistic’ or ‘Virginia Woolf was a racist’. Not because I can’t see that both statements are partially true, but because I am of that generation whose only real shibboleth was: ‘Is it interesting?.

Adelaide Writers’ Week Director Louise Adler AM :

Zadie Smith has been on my wish list since I joined the AWW team, so I am thrilled that we have finally managed to lure her to “the Athens of the South. From her first best-selling and groundbreaking novel, White Teeth, published at the tender age of 24, through to her latest masterpiece, The Fraud, and from her provocative essay on cultural appropriation to her reflections on her literary heroes, it has proved impossible for Zadie Smith to write a boring sentence.

Adelaide University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International and External Engagement), Dr Jessica Gallagher :

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day in 2026, it’s extremely fitting that Adelaide University will host Zadie Smith, in addition to the highly accomplished Emily Maitlis. We also look forward to hosting a sold-out crowd at Bonython Hall to hear the powerful Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern GNZM speak. Over one hundred years ago, we were the first Australian university to admit women, and we continue to passionately champion women’s accomplishments every day. We are proud to lend our support to Adelaide Writers’ Week and welcome all attendees next March.

Also on sale today is the spoken-word event Better Off Said, with MC Emilie Zoey Baker and produced by Marieke Hardy.

A star-studded lineup including Kathy Lette, Tracey Lee Holmes and Peter Greste will each share “the words they wish they’d said” and the evening will culminate with best-selling Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez’s delivery of a living eulogy. Attendees will have to come along to discover to whom or what Enriquez is offering a homage. Expect the unexpected!

Better Off Said is at The Drill Hall, Torrens Parade Ground, on 3 March at 6:30pm.

A Conversation with Zadie Smith is at Bonython Hall, Adelaide University on 5 March at 4pm.

Zadie Smith also appears in the All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House on 8 March and at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 10 March.

Adelaide Writers’ Week runs from 28 February to 5 March 2026 as part of Adelaide Festival, which runs from 27 February to 15 March 2026.

Season Details

Venue: Bonython Hall
Date: 05 Mar 2026

For more information click HERE