PUBLISHING AND BEING DAMNED:

Brisbane-based University of Queensland Press (UQP) has been hit by more boycotts by authors following its decision to scrap more publications on the eve of their release.

Several of UQP’s stable of published writers have declared they would abandon their contracts with the university-based imprint after it announced it would not proceed with the launch of an indigenous author’s picture book for children because of past statements by its illustrator deemed to be antisemitic.

The 5,000 copies of the new book, Bila, a river cycle, by Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money are to be pulped. (main picture)

UQP made the decision based on the words of a poem – not by its author but by the book’s illustrator, Matt Chun – which allegedly breached the university’s policy on antisemitism.

A spokesperson for UQP confirmed that other publications were now being considered for pulping because of alleged antisemitic remarks by people associated with their development.

“We are closely examining comments made by an apprentice pre-press technician working on the floor of our printing house during production of a crossword puzzle book who expressed their concern about Israel’s genocidal tactics in Gaza,” the spokesperson said before stressing they personally were not expressing concern about genocide in Gaza but were merely citing possibly antisemitic comments by someone else.

“I don’t want to lose my job just for stating the facts, that for sure. That would be very wrong,” the spokesperson added.

“There is also another incident that involves a delivery driver bringing boxes of a just-printed recipe book to the UQP offices who casually mentioned to our receptionist news he had heard on his van’s radio about the number of children Israel had now killed in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

“As a result, we’ll be shredding the recipe book as soon as possible.”

Brisbane amateur cartographer Trevor Snurd (below) said UQP had contacted him to say the publishing house was cancelling plans to publish his latest work.

“I was thrilled that UQP was going to release my new booklet which is just a simple walking guide for visitors to the uni’s St Lucia campus,” he explained.

“But just this morning I received a call from UQP saying they are not going to release it.

“UQP’s concern centres on a map I included in the guide for people arriving at the campus by CityCat ferry which shows how to get from the Brisbane River to C Block, so the whole 10,000 booklets are now being pulped,” Mr Snurd said.

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