Murky past of publisher Brad Shaw – and the authors suing him for missing royalties

For years Dan Moon judiciously tinkered away at his memoir. The story of a lawyer and single father who worked as an escort named “Mitch”, his memoir was about a clientele of middle-aged women seeking pleasure, including Sam, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, who wanted a final, no-strings-attached lover.

Dan Moon, who wrote about his alter ego Mitch Larsson, an escort. He is now suing his own publisher over the book.

“I poured everything into the book, literally my blood, sweat, tears and soul. I’d been knocked back by the major publishers, they didn’t want to take a gamble on an unknown … the book industry is like that, unless you have connections or a profile, they’re not interested,” Moon told the Herald and The Age.

Moon estimates thousands of copies were sold, but says he has only received a fraction of the royalties he claims he’s owed after signing with “hybrid publisher” Shawline Publishing.

Moon is one of more than a dozen angry authors, many of whom have commenced or are engaged in legal disputes over publishing contracts signed with a man named “Brad Shaw”, listed as the managing director of the modest Ballarat-based publishing house.

The furore has exposed a dark corner of the Australian publishing industry where would-be bestselling authors are signing restrictive contracts and handing over thousands of dollars to self-styled “hybrid publishers” to have their “passion projects” launched into the marketplace, but with little chance of ever making decent money.

Brad Shaw at his now defunct bookshop in Ballarat.Credit: Australian Community Media

A Herald and Age investigation has revealed Brad Shaw’s real name is Edwin Jason McBride, who according to company records is the owner and director of Shawline Publishing. EJ McBride is also listed among Shawline’s “bestselling authors”, including one book billed as “tales from the mind of a self-confessed nutter”.

Company records also reveal Edwin Jason McBride was formerly known as Brad McBride.

Shaw, or McBride, has been bankrupted three times. A decade ago, he collapsed in an Adelaide courtroom after pleading guilty to a criminal charge of distributing pornographic pictures on his website.

In 2013, Brad McBride was making homemade adult films in Geelong when he published images of an amateur actress, which he promised would stay private, following a property dispute. He created a website, uploaded 12 images from the movies showing the woman engaged in sexual acts, and posted a link on his Twitter account without her knowledge.

According to court reports at the time, McBride became unsteady on his feet in the dock when he heard he was facing up to two years’ jail, and when handed a three-month suspended sentence, he collapsed.

An ambulance was called but was not required after court staff administered first aid. McBride regained consciousness, managing to walk out of the courtroom unassisted.

Today McBride – going by the name of Brad Shaw – is at the helm of Shawline Publishing Group, along with a slew of other associated publishing entities, though he recently closed an affiliated bookshop. On Thursday Shaw said this masthead’s inquiries “sound ominous”, adding he would only respond to questions after seeing a draft copy of the article before publication. He did not respond to specific questions about his identity, Shawline’s business model, bankruptcy or Brad McBride’s criminal convictions, instead notifying this masthead’s management he was lodging a complaint with the Australian Press Council and commencing legal proceedings.

Authors signed contracts with Shaw to publish their debut books, each paying about $5000 for services such as editing, cover design, distribution and marketing, with Shaw claiming the company would match that price dollar for dollar investing in the books. Authors were charged additional fees to buy copies of their own books from the publisher.

All of them claim Shaw promised their books would be successful, but say they received a pittance in royalties and saw little evidence of sales figures or tangible marketing activity.

Sydney author Steve Hiles says he has made enough royalties to buy “a large coffee at a cheap cafe”.Credit: Melinda Jane/Western Weekender

Sydney author Steve Hiles estimated the royalties from his biography of 19th-century Australian boxer Albert “Young Griffo” Griffiths would “buy a large coffee … at a cheap cafe”.

“Brad could really talk the talk. He raved about my book; it felt good to hear someone being so flattering about your work … maybe I was being foolish, but he was a great salesman,” Hiles said.

Dan Moon said he paid Shaw about $6000 for his book to be published and marketed.

“He promised me the world, that he would do all this marketing and really put everything into launching the book,” Moon said. But he received $650 in royalties.

After hiring his own publicist his book was featured in Good Weekend, The Guardian, News Corp publications, spots on breakfast television and talkback radio, features in online sites including Mamamia and a lengthy podcast with media identity Jessica Rowe.

“That’s millions of potential buyers … I can’t believe it has not earned more royalties than what I’ve seen,” Moon said.

He is suing Shawline Publishing in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal claiming he is owed thousands in unpaid royalties.

“I was never given an exact figure of how many copies it sold,” Moon said. He has since self-published a revised version titled Time For Her: A Male Escort’s Memoir of Love via Amazon.

“It wasn’t that difficult either, sadly. I learnt that the hard way,” he said.

Author Kim Barden outside Shawline Publishing’s now defunct bookshop.

Fledgling author Kim Barden’s relationship with Shaw deteriorated quickly when she attempted to sever ties with the publisher. “I feel Brad really plays on people’s dreams, using people’s naivety of the industry to take advantage. The experience left me angry and feeling quite hollow at times.”

Attempting to convince her to stay, Shaw wrote a lengthy email “from a place of care and respect”.

When she declined his overtures, he wrote back: “Based on your irrational explanation, which is beyond any intelligent comprehension, and my desire to spend not one more cent of my money or minute of my valuable time on this redundant relationship, your works are immediately being removed from our list.”

Barden has since self-published her works, estimating that in the first three months of her fantasy novel The Gilded Mirror being republished she made four times the $110 royalties she received over three years from Shawline.

Alana Andrews worked as a production co-ordinator with Shawline and said she was aware of authors’ grievances, claiming she is also owed money and has initiated legal action against Shawline.

“I think potential authors need to know what is really going on,” she said.

According to Nielsen BookData’s BookScan, the Australian book market was worth $1.33 billion in 2023, with sales of 69.8 million units.

According to the 2023 Australian Society of Authors survey, 52 per cent of respondents earned between $0 and $1999 in the previous financial year. Eighty per cent earned less than $15,000.

Shawline Publishing remains a member of the Australian Publishers Association, which is aware of the authors’ concerns. In a statement, the association said: “If there is evidence that a member is operating in a way that is detrimental to the interests of the publishing industry, the board of directors has the power to suspend or expel that member.”

Australian Society of Authors CEO Olivia Lanchester said the “net profit” business model was high risk for authors because, despite the author’s upfront investment, the publisher must recoup all their costs before paying the author.

“Typically authors do not have any visibility over what those costs are. In the ASA’s view, it’s unreasonable to be asked to stump up the money but then be kept in the dark on the information required for you to evaluate your financial risk. Most books don’t make a profit so, more often than not, the authors will be paid very little or not at all. The question becomes: is this business funded by book sales or funded by authors?” Lanchester said, adding the ASA offered a service to help potential authors navigate contracts.

Traditional publishers pay for all the costs of publication and, in return for the exclusive right to bring that book to market. They pay royalties from the first book sold.

“Authors are vulnerable because they have a strong desire to be published in a fiercely competitive market – and this emotion can be exploited. The industry can also be quite opaque so if an author doesn’t have an in-depth understanding of distribution they make assumptions when offered a publishing contract,” she said.

“Promising international distribution sounds great at first, but if the reality is that the author’s book files are simply uploaded to an international database, those books barely stand a chance of being noticed. What is left unsaid and unexplained is the problem. If you’re asking an author to pay thousands of dollars, it is ethically incumbent on you to explain the reality of their risk.”

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