Writer Beware Details the Fee Programs and Contracts Behind Starfish Bay Complaints

What's new in the Starfish Bay story? The publishing watchdog Writer Beware has published a detailed account of author complaints at Starfish Bay Publishing, the Australian children's picture-book publisher whose authors have been asking for help since early October. The post, written by Victoria Strauss and dated Friday, October 16, 2026, goes further than earlier reports. It traces how the company asked authors for money over several years, what its contracts said, and what writers say happened next.

PT reported on October 14 that the Australian Society of Authors had issued guidance after creators complained about missing royalties, unpaid loans and a publisher that had stopped answering. Writer Beware's account fills in the background.

From traditional to "author supported"

Strauss says Starfish Bay did not always charge authors. Archived copies of its submissions page from 2021 and earlier mention no fees. That changed in 2022.

PT checked the archived pages Writer Beware cites. A March 2022 copy of the submissions page describes a new "hybrid publishing model" in which the author would "make a contribution by purchasing 200 hardback copies of their title at a 20 per cent discount."

An October 2024 copy shows what came next. Citing "the severe effect the pandemic had on our publishing business," the company described an "Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme" that "requires a temporary loan of $6000 from an author." The figure is in Australian dollars. The page said the loan would be repaid "within two and a half years," and that the rest of the deal followed a standard traditional offer.

Strauss's view is simple: a large upfront payment as a condition of publication is pay-to-play, whatever it is called. She also points out the obvious risk. A loan is only as good as the borrower's ability to repay it.

What the contracts said

Writer Beware says it has seen a number of Starfish Bay contracts from 2023, 2024 and 2025. According to the post, they included:

• An exclusive claim on subsidiary rights, with only 25% of that income going to the author
• Royalties of 9% to 10% of net on print and 12.5% of net on ebooks
• A rights grant for the life of copyright, without adequate provision for getting rights back
• An editing clause that let the publisher edit without the author's input
• Either a required purchase of several hundred books, with a four-figure non-refundable payment due within weeks, or the "temporary loan"

Some contracts also carried a guaranteed royalty clause, with the publisher promising to make up any shortfall if sales did not reach a set amount by a set date.

What authors say happened

Writer Beware says writers began contacting it in September and shared documents supporting their complaints. The post lists:

• Illustrators who were never hired, even though contracts required it. Some authors say they contacted the illustrators directly and learned they were not under contract or that the work was on hold, and that some illustrators were not paid for work they did.
• Books that were never published.
• Unpaid royalties and missing royalty statements.
• Loans not repaid by the contract deadline, and guaranteed royalties not paid.
• Long silences, broken up by generic email updates promising to clear a backlog.

The post says some authors have filed claims in court and some have hired debt collectors. A private Facebook group for affected authors and illustrators had 190 members when Strauss wrote it.

These are allegations from authors, collected and reviewed by Writer Beware. The post does not include a response from the company, and Starfish Bay's website carried no statement about the complaints when PT checked it on October 17.

Still taking submissions

One detail stands out. As of October 17, Starfish Bay's current submissions page still invites manuscripts. It says that in 2026 the company has "reserved 30 publishing slots for solicited authors and 70 slots for signed authors under our Traditional Publishing Programme." Writer Beware says the fee programmes appear to have been dropped from the website by late 2025, and that all imprints are now described as traditional.

Writer Beware also lists at least eight new business names and several trademark filings tied to the company in 2025 and 2026, and says the timing lines up with when authors' problems got worse.

Why it matters for authors

A "loan" to your publisher is still a payment. If a contract asks you for money before your book comes out, treat it as a paid publishing deal and get it reviewed, however the fee is described.

Read the rights and reversion clauses first. A life-of-copyright grant with no clear way out is what leaves books stuck when a publisher goes quiet.

Check a publisher's history, not just its homepage. Archived copies of a submissions page can show how a company's terms changed over time.

Talk to other authors. Strauss notes that publisher collapses often come to light only when writers who thought they were alone find each other. For the ASA's practical steps, including how to terminate an unpublished contract, see PT's earlier report. PT's guide to hybrid publishing explains what a fair paid deal should look like.

Sources

• Writer Beware: Author Complaints at Starfish Bay Publishing (October 16, 2026)
• Starfish Bay Publishing: Submissions page (checked October 17, 2026), with archived copies from March 2022 and October 2024
• Australian Society of Authors: Industry update: Concerns about non-responsive publishers (October 14, 2026)