Brittany Higgins’ book leak: ‘B-grade Grace Tame’ ‘war gamed’ rape claims with fiancé David Sharaz

Brittany Higgins likens herself to a “B-grade Grace Tame” and admits that she and fiancé David Sharaz “confused” her rape claims in an early draft of her forthcoming book.

Ms. Higgins signed a $325,000 book deal with Penguin Books in April 2021, which was brokered by Peter FitzSimons, husband of former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson, who first aired her claims on TV.

But the book’s publication has been delayed since the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann was dropped for misconduct by a juror, and charges against him were later dropped over concerns about Ms. Higgins’ mental health.

Mr. Lehrmann denies the allegations.

The future of the book remains uncertain, but parts of a rough draft, under the ostensible working title #NotJustADaughter, have now been leaked to The Australian.

And it reportedly begins with Ms. Higgins admitting, “Honestly, I feel like a B-grade Grace Tame.”

Bittany Higgins admits she and fiancé David Sharaz (pictured together) played her rape claims ‘war games’ for maximum political impact using their insider knowledge of Canberra and the media

It exists outside and beyond the political bubble. Lawsuit closed, granted and respected,” she writes in the newspaper.

“Here I am in the mud with the pigs, fighting for control of the daily news cycle. Throwing mud: a WhatsApp here, a voicemail there, a licorice to Sam [Maiden, political journalist].’

The book is reportedly dedicated to Mr Sharaz and reveals how the pair painstakingly planned the maximum political impact of her allegations using their insider knowledge of Canberra and the media.

She outlines how the “Liberal Party had been training me to play media games for the past three years” and her vow that “if I could do this, I would do it right.”

She reportedly adds in the leaked draft, “We had become quite a twosome when it came to game planning.

‘My experience as a media consultant, David’s experience as a producer; together we understood how the gallery’s media atmosphere worked.’

Ms. Higgins signed a $325,000 book deal with Penguin Books in April 2021, brokered by Peter FitzSimons, husband of former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson (pictured together) who aired her bombshell allegations for the first time on TV

From the outset, she said she wanted to reveal her allegations before a two-week parliamentary session cycle to ensure the government would face Canberra’s media.

She admitted she’d thought about holding it back “for a few more months,” but feared the upcoming 2019 election would overshadow her story.

“If this happened, it would be now or never,” she writes in the draft.

That particular part of the book closely parallels Ms. Higgins and Mr. Sharaz’s leaked chat with Wilkinson, in which they discuss how best to present the story to maximize its impact.

The book is reportedly dedicated to her fiancé David Sharaz (pictured with Brittany Higgins)

It reveals her plans to fly to Canberra to confront then Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then meet the parliamentary press gallery.

But she also shows her frustration and anger that she “had to also come up with the agenda and the solutions to these very complex problems.”

She said she longed for the help of a “political savior” like liberal figureheads Peta Credlin, Julie Bishop or Julia Banks to take charge and “make it a meaningful change.”

But she said no one came forward to help her – and she felt like Sisyphus of Greek mythology, sentenced to forever roll a huge boulder up the hill.

“It was still just me, faced with what felt like an unwavering force,” she wrote in the draft.

‘And for what? Being abused online? To cloud the water in a criminal case? To make enemies of former friends? To alienate me from potential employees?’

She admitted there was a long list of reasons for not making her allegations public, but she persisted because “it was the right thing to do.”

The book deal was announced in a flurry of publicity by Penguin, who said Ms Higgins “speaked the truth to power and led to a reckoning with systemic abuse that will be felt for years to come.”

It was touted as the “personal account of a young woman who took on the most formidable institution in the country.”

The deal was announced by Penguin Books Australia in April 2021, but the book has yet to be published

The dropped rape prosecution against Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) has created complex legal issues for the book. He strenuously denied all allegations against him

Ms Higgins added at the time: ‘This book will shed light on the culture within the corridors of power and provide a first-hand account of what it was like to survive a media storm that turned into a movement.’

But the project has since been shelved and no release date has been released yet.

The draft seen by The Australian is believed to be a very early draft with an outline for a 90,000 word book with 35 chapters and some scant notes under the chapter headings.

The dropped rape prosecution against Mr. Lehrmann has led to complex legal issues for the book. He strenuously denied all allegations against him.

It’s further complicated by his continued smear campaign against Ten and Wilkinson, and the ABC.

It is unlikely the book can be published until those lawsuits are resolved.

Ms Higgins’ potential book came under fire at Mr Lehrmann’s trial – with barrister Steven Whybrow telling Ms Higgins she had begun sketching chapters before making her formal statement to police.

Mr Whybrow told the court there were ‘325,000 reasons why’ the case was important to Ms Higgins.