Authors including Evelyn Araluen and Melissa Lucashenko say they won’t work with publisher after it dumps Jazz Money’s book illustrated by Matt Chun, who called Bondi victims ‘affluent beneficiaries of imperialism’

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An Australian publishing house has cancelled the publication of a children’s book by an award-winning Indigenous poet over comments the book’s illustrator made about the victims of the Bondi beach terror attack, whom he called “affluent beneficiaries of imperialism”.

University of Queensland said on Wednesday its publishing house would not proceed with the publication of Bila, A River Cycle, written by Jazz Money and illustrated by Matt Chun, and was considering “recycling options” for already printed copies.