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An Australian publisher has removed a children’s book following comments by the book’s illustrator about the Bondi Beach shooting, which the publisher says violates its anti-Semitism policy.
The move prompted several prominent Australian writers to cut ties with the University of Queensland Press (UQP) and sparked allegations of political censorship.
Thousands of copies had already been printed for Bila, A River Cycle, an Indigenous children’s book written by poet Jazz Money and illustrated by Matt Chun.
In January, Chun wrote and published an essay in his public newsletter Substack criticizing some of the public reactions to the Bondi shooting.
Fifteen people were killed after two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish beach party on December 14.
Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who headed the local Chabad Mission, an international Hasidic Jewish group that organized the event.
In his essay, Chun accuses the “Australian left” of trying to “play respectability and avoid accusations of anti-Semitism” in the wake of the shooting, while also criticizing media coverage of the incident.
He also criticized Chabad and Schlanger for supporting Israeli military actions and illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories.
The University of Queensland said in a statement to the BBC that Chun’s comments were “abhorrent and hateful to the innocent victims of the attack.”
“The University cannot ignore or condone them and cannot proceed in a manner that suggests approval or association,” he said.
He also said they regretted the impact their decision had had on Money, “for whom we have enormous respect”.
“We would welcome the opportunity to work with Jazz again in the future,” he said.
The university added that copies of the books were being stored while they considered “recycling options”.
Separately, New South Wales Police told the BBC they were “working with the Engagement and Hate Crime Unit” regarding the position.
Chun has since written on Instagram that the university “has not identified specific passages or statements in my political writings that contravene its policies and values. Nor has the university identified a single term of our publishing agreement that can be relied upon to justify its termination.”
He also said he and Money have been aware of UQP’s decision to cancel the book “for a few months now”.
On Instagram, Money said his relationship with UQP was “now over”.
“The removal of Bila sets a precedent that any book that is more political, more urgent, or more sensitive can be subject to censorship, cancellation, and more,” she wrote.
Money, a Wiradjuri woman, has received accolades for her poetry, including the 2025 Kate Challis RAKA Prize, which celebrates Indigenous artists. She is also a recipient of the First Nations Emerging Career Award from the Australia Council for the Arts.
UQP’s decision to drop his book sparked a boycott of the publisher by several prominent Australian writers.
Award-winning poet Evelyn Araluen said UQP’s handling of Money’s book was “extremely disappointing” to her and that she would terminate all of her remaining contracts with the publisher.
Randa Abdel-Fattah, the Australian-Palestinian writer refused entry to a major literature festival in Adelaide caused an uproar in January, declared that his next book, Discipline, would be his “first and last book at UQP”.
Other writers, including Melissa Lucaschenko and Natalia Figueroa Barroso, also announced that they were ending their partnership with UQP.
Founded in 1948 as an academic publishing house, UQP publishes books in different genres, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
