A New Wave of Publishing Scams Are Targeting Independent Authors

The Authors Guild has been tracking publishing and rights scams reported since February 2026, and that number has only grown: a sharp new wave of the same schemes has started up again, with independent authors as the main targets.

The pattern was first reported by The Dial and The New York Times such as a surge in fake book clubs, publicity tours, press events, and book and movie deals that don't exist, all while the authors approached, usually by email, are asked to send a monetary contribution to help cover the event.

Author Jon Cocks paid $478.65 to a "Mary Brown" who claimed a network of book clubs across the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, then noticed the name Dayo Oguntuase on the PayPal statement. Yet the scale can be far larger as according to the Justice Department, more than 800 authors were defrauded of upwards of $48 million. Prosecutors say at least $42 million was laundered through accounts in the Philippines, and one author reportedly lost more than $600,000.

The scams are also not confined to the United States. The Writers' Guild of Great Britain reports "an explosion" in members seeking advice about unusually enticing offers, and the Society of Authors says its advisory team receives at least a dozen scam reports each week. CEO, Anna Ganley, says this all traces to the emergence of generative AI. The Authors Guild says it hears from authors who have been scammed, or nearly scammed, every day.

The organization notes that scam emails now often include AI-generated summaries of the author's own work, an attempt to sound knowledgeable and grab attention. The Dial's reporting found the same thing from the other side: one scammer left what appeared to be an AI prompt  "MAKE IT MORE PROFESSIONAL" inside an email to journalist Snigdha Poonam, who accepted a fake book club's invitation and found herself on a Zoom call with roughly 20 "readers" whose cameras were off and whose questions sounded generated. 

Beyond book clubs, authors are being bombarded with offers to publish, market, or handle social media for them, to represent them as agents, and to secure book-to-movie deals with Netflix and Paramount. The Authors Guild's alerts sort the reports into book clubs; publicity, marketing and visibility; impersonations of podcast or radio hosts, well-known authors and publishing personnel; publishing and distribution deals; and a newer and more disturbing category such as threats, including blackmail attempts and threats to pirate an author's work.

The red flags are consistent. Watch for free email domains used by senders claiming to represent established brands, fictitious domains designed to mimic legitimate services, unsolicited requests for upfront fees, promises of guaranteed royalties, and intense promises paired with exorbitant fees. 

Angela Hoy, founder of WritersWeekly.com, attributes it to ego and as managing editor Brian Whiddon told The Dial, "Not every author is a narcissist, but they all want to be recognized. That's exactly what these scammers are targeting". 

Legitimate book clubs don't ask authors for money to feature or read their books, and reputable publishers, agents and literary organizations won’t demand payment to review a manuscript. Authors Guild recommends the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center  “Scam and extortion reports submitted through IC3 are shared with agents across the country, and the more reports the FBI receives about a particular scheme.”