James Ley
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jamesley.bsky.social
James Ley
@jamesley.bsky.social
580 followers 360 following 420 posts
Deputy Books and Ideas Editor, The Conversation. Contributing Editor, Sydney Review of Books. Author of The Critic in the Modern World. Words in various other places.
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jamesley.bsky.social
James Ley @jamesley.bsky.social · Sep 5
My latest for SRB.

sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/bast...
Bastards! | Sydney Review of Books
From economic rationalism to libertarianism, neoliberalism appears under many guises. Reviewing Quinn Slobodian’s new book on neoliberal thought, James Ley shows that what its founders share with latt...
sydneyreviewofbooks.com
jamesley.bsky.social
The difference is that Goebbels was not so pathetic as to demand it
January 16, 2026 at 3:15 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
Knut Hamsun gave his Nobel medal to Joseph Goebbels in 1943, if anyone is looking for a precedent.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
María Corina Machado says she presented Trump with her Nobel peace prize medal
The Venezuelan opposition leader did not confirm whether the US president accepted the award
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:45 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
The correct answer:
January 16, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by James Ley
janeannehoward.bsky.social
Pulp have shared a statement on Adelaide Festival. They told organisers they would be withdrawing, were asked to delay their announcement, and are now satisfied that they will participate in this year's Festival.
Statement regarding the Adelaide Festival. Pope were appalled to hear of the circumstances in which the Adelaide Festival board had cancelled the scheduled appearance of Randa Abdel-Fattah, and respect those who immediately spoke out against this decision. We want to make it absolutely clear that Pope refused to condone the silencing of voices. We celebrate difference and oppose censorship violence and oppression in all its forms. Our management and representatives have been in dialogue with the festival organisers since last week when the situation was first made public. Having informed them that we had decided to withdraw from the festival in support of the boycott, we were asked to delay an announcement while they sought to resolve the crisis for all sides. It is our understanding that the festival programmers are now acting in good faith. The festival board that made this dreadful decision have been replaced and a full apology has been accepted by Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has been invited to appear next year. Given this new and welcome development, we feel able in good conscience to honour our invitation to perform in Adelaide on 27 February. We hope that our free concert will be an opportunity for different communities to come together in peace and harmony
January 15, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by James Ley
dominickelly.bsky.social
So basically exactly what Cathy Wilcox suggested in her cartoon.
January 16, 2026 at 12:49 AM
Reposted by James Ley
nickfeik.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Reposted by James Ley
jendn.bsky.social
Imagine you were about to appear at a writers' festival to talk about your first book... then the whole thing fell apart.

I wanted to find debut authors who almost talked at Adelaide Writers' Week. These are 21 folks I've identified so far but *please* let me know who I've missed or mixed up.
A list of 21 debut authors who almost appeared at a writers’ festival.
January 14, 2026 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by James Ley
jennifermills.net.au
I spoke with @theconversation.com for this important piece on the Adelaide Festival disaster and the crisis in arts governance theconversation.com/masterclass-...
@asauthors.bsky.social
‘Masterclass in poor governance’: what was the board’s role in the end of Adelaide Writers Week?
Just-resigned Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler calls the cancellation of the event ‘no surprise’. What went wrong?
theconversation.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:18 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
Excellent essay by Hossein Asgari on one the great novels of the 20th century

theconversation.com/guide-to-the...
Guide to the classics: death-haunted masterpiece The Blind Owl shadows the decline of modern Iran
The dire social and political landscape of Sadeq Hedayat’s time contributed to the existential despair and pessimism of his writing.
theconversation.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Reposted by James Ley
roycerk2.bsky.social
Who could have known?
Writer Abdel-Fattah launches legal action against Premier - News | InDaily, Inside South Australia
Writer Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched defamation proceedings against the Premier over her Writers' Week cancellation.
www.indailysa.com.au
January 14, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by James Ley
jocaseau.bsky.social
What was the board’s role in the end of Adelaide Writers Week? (And how SHOULD an arts board work, and how might we make them better? Also: why can the board override the director?)

Thanks @kimgoodwinacm.bsky.social for writing this for @aunz.theconversation.com

theconversation.com/masterclass-...
‘Masterclass in poor governance’: what was the board’s role in the end of Adelaide Writers Week?
Just-resigned Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler calls the cancellation of the event ‘no surprise’. What went wrong?
theconversation.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Reposted by James Ley
amyremeikis.bsky.social
Adelaide Festival is done - and the rest of the board has stepped down
January 13, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Reposted by James Ley
crikey.com.au
The catalyst for the implosion of Adelaide Writers' Week may have been the board’s exclusion of Randa Abdel-Fattah on January 8, but the fight over her inclusion in the program had been running at board level for months, reports Nick Feik.
The Adelaide Writers' Week fight rolled out at board level months before Bondi
The emergence of a key letter casts new light on the rationale used by the festival board to uninvite Randa Abdel-Fattah.
www.crikey.com.au
January 13, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by James Ley
instanterudite.bsky.social
I write about the Adelaide Writers' Week debacle for @theshot.net.au.

theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Why is a Labor Premier silencing a writer?  - The Shot
For many Adelaideans, Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) is the highlight of their year. A glorious six days when the Pioneer...
theshot.net.au
January 13, 2026 at 12:54 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
Louise Adler's response

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide Writers’ Week | Louise Adler
Cancelling the Australian Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:41 PM
jamesley.bsky.social
"Readers familiar with the play may find it amusing that Agnes’s interest in the character bearing her dead son’s name evaporates before the end of Act I."

theconversation.com/it-takes-man...
It takes many ghosts to make a story: how Maggie O'Farrell’s Hamnet takes from – and mistakes – Shakespeare
Was the premature death of Shakespeare’s only son really the inspiration for Hamlet?
theconversation.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by James Ley
amyremeikis.bsky.social
No notes

All the power and love to @cathywilcox.bsky.social
January 12, 2026 at 9:23 PM
jamesley.bsky.social
Another option might have been to let her turn up and talk about her novel.
January 12, 2026 at 11:26 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
Interesting review of Omar Musa's Fierceland and the problem of writing literature in a time of polycrisis.

theconversation.com/the-epic-nov...
The epic novel runs amok in Omar Musa’s Fierceland
The tension between the novelistic attention to psychology and detail and the epic tendency to breadth of scale and form makes – and unmakes – this book.
theconversation.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Reposted by James Ley
jeffsparrow1.bsky.social
I wrote for @crikey.com.au on the Wilcox stuff

www.crikey.com.au/2026/01/12/t...
The Australian defended Bill Leak to the death. So why is it coming for Cathy Wilcox's Bondi cartoon?
The Australian has run at least 10 stories decrying Cathy Wilcox's controversial cartoon about the Bondi royal commission. The hypocrisy is staggering.
www.crikey.com.au
January 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by James Ley
cathywilcox.bsky.social
Grass roots.
My @smh cartoon.
January 6, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by James Ley
janeannehoward.bsky.social
The ABC reports Tracey Whiting, the chair of the Adelaide Festival board has stepped down. This leaves just three members and a government observer left on the board. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Adelaide Festival board members, chair quit after author's cancellation from Writers' Week
The Adelaide Festival board's decision to cancel the appearance of Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from this year's Adelaide Writers' Week has prompted further fallout, with several b...
www.abc.net.au
January 11, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by James Ley
sbsaustralia.nzcow.com
📢 SBS News can confirm three board members have now resigned from the Adelaide Festival, amid growing controversy over a decision to drop a Palestinian Australian author and academic.
Board members quit from Adelaide festival as fallout from dropped author grows
www.sbs.com.au
January 11, 2026 at 6:04 AM
jamesley.bsky.social
Several plethoras
January 9, 2026 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by James Ley
thebooksdesk.bsky.social
Richard Flanagan on point: "But with this act of utter folly and appalling weakness, the Adelaide Festival board – and the politicians who direct it – have, by scapegoating a Palestinian writer, now destroyed Adelaide Writers Week for the foreseeable future..." www.smh.com.au/national/if-...
If Tony Abbott is welcome at Adelaide Writers’ Week, Randa Abdel-Fattah should be too
Australia’s best writers festival could collapse within days as international and local writers boycott it in protest at the removal of Randa Abdel-Fattah.
www.smh.com.au
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 AM