Aboriginal children's book pulled over illustrator's Bondi attack comments

An Australian publisher has scrapped a children's book over comments made by the book's illustrator on the Bondi beach shooting, which the publisher says violates its policy on antisemitism.

The move has 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 on his public Substack newsletter critiquing some of the public's responses to the Bondi shooting.

Fifteen people were killed after two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish festival held at the beach on 14 December.

The victims included Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who led the local Chabad mission, an international Hasidic Jewish group that organised the event.

In his essay Chun accused the "Australian left" of trying to "perform respectability and avoid accusations of 'anti-semitism'" in the wake of the shooting, while also criticising media coverage of the incident.

He also criticised Chabad and Schlanger because they had supported Israel's military actions and illegal settlements in 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 overlook or condone them and cannot proceed in a way that suggests endorsement or association," it said.

It also said that they regretted the impact their decision has had on Money, "for whom we have enormous respect".

"We would welcome the opportunity to work with Jazz again in the future," it said.

The university added that copies of the books are in storage while they consider "recycling options".

Separately, the New South Wales Police told the BBC that they were "working with the Engagement and Hate Crime Unit" in relation to the post.

Chun has since written on Instagram that the university "has not identified the specific passages or statements in my political writing that contravene its policies and values. Nor has the university identified a single term from our publishing agreement that can be relied upon to justify its termination".

He also said that he and Money had known about UQP's decision to cancel the book "for some months now".

On Instagram, Money said that her relationship with UQP was "now over".

"The pulping of Bila sets a precedent that any book that is more political, more urgent or more sensitive can be victim to censorship, cancellation and more," she wrote.

Money, a Wiradjuri woman, has received accolades for her poetry, including the 2025 Kate Challis RAKA Award, which celebrates Indigenous artists. She is also a recipient of the First Nations Emerging Career Award by the Australia Council for the Arts.

UQP's decision to scrap her book has sparked a boycott of the publisher by several prominent Australian writers.

The award-winning poet Evelyn Araluen said UQP's handling of Money's book was of "extreme disappointment" to her, and she would rescind all her remaining contracts with the publisher.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the Australian-Palestinian writer whose disinvitation from a major literature festival in Adelaide sparked an uproar in January, said her upcoming book, Discipline, would be her "first and last book with UQP".

Other writers, including Melissa Lucashenko and Natalia Figueroa Barroso, have also announced that they would terminate their partnerships with UQP.

Founded in 1948 as an academic publishing house, UQP publishes books across different genres including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.