Shaken staff and an author exodus: how a picture book plunged an acclaimed Australian publisher into a crisis over antisemitism

University of Queensland Press has been thrown into turmoil by the cancellation of Indigenous poet Jazz Money’s book Bila, A River Cycle over comments by its illustrator, Matt Chun, and a subsequent exodus of authors. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

On 28 February, University of Queensland Press received an email from one of its authors warning of the publisher’s impending collapse.

UQP is one of the most celebrated literary houses in the country – the Australian Book Industry Awards’ small publisher of the year for four of the past five years – and its enviable stable of authors continues to win major awards.