--- a/plugins/mod_pubsub/mod_pubsub.lua	Wed Jun 27 20:06:13 2018 +0200
+++ b/plugins/mod_pubsub/mod_pubsub.lua	Thu Jun 28 01:46:28 2018 +0200
@@ -55,10 +55,13 @@
 	local message = st.message({ from = module.host, type = msg_type, id = id })
 		:tag("event", { xmlns = xmlns_pubsub_event })
 			:tag(kind, { node = node })
-				:add_child(item);
+
+	if item then
+		message:add_child(item);
+	end
 
 	-- Compose a sensible textual representation of at least Atom payloads
-	if node_obj and node_obj.config.include_body and item.tags[1] then
+	if node_obj and item and node_obj.config.include_body and item.tags[1] then
 		local payload = item.tags[1];
 		if payload.attr.xmlns == "http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" then
 			message:reset();