Have you recently received an email invitation to be a featured guest at a book festival or conference event? Or to be interviewed on a radio show or podcast?
Literary agents, publishers, and major production companies don’t typically cold-call authors. That unexpected “endorsement” from Amazon Studios, or expression of interest from a Big 5 editor, is never going to turn out to be legit. But literary events and interviewers do reach out to writers directly. Even in our current age of hyper-aggressive solicitation scams, that out-of-the-blue conference or interview invite might just be the real thing.
Unfortunately, AI-driven impersonation scams have glommed onto these events in a big way. I’m getting a growing number of reports from writers who’ve received credible-seeming invitations that have turned out to be completely fake. It’s yet another area where writers must be extremely careful not to take anything at face value.
Below, the scams’ M.O….and their provenance (which, if you’re a regular reader, won’t surprise you).
Book Festival and Conference Impersonations
Here’s the solicitation one writer received from, supposedly, the Ballyscullion Park Book Festival.
![From: Rosalind Mulholland <rosalind.ballyscullionbookfest@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2026 4:16 AM
To: [redacted]
Subject: A Curated Invitation: Ballyscullion Park Book Festival 2026
Dear [redacted],
I hope this finds you well.
My name is Rosalind Mulholland, and I am the Festival Director of the Ballyscullion Park Book Festival, a carefully curated literary gathering set within the historic grounds of Ballyscullion Park in Northern Ireland.
I am reaching out to personally invite you to be considered for our 2026 programme (May 16–17).
Ballyscullion is intentionally limited in scale. Each year, we work closely with a small number of writers whose work we believe will resonate with our audience, an engaged and discerning community of readers, collectors, and cultural patrons who value depth, conversation, and direct access to authors.
Your novel, [redacted], reflects a voice and sensibility that we feel would strongly resonate within this setting.
Participation in the festival is structured as a curated experience, designed not simply as a speaking appearance, but as a meaningful positioning opportunity within a highly attentive environment.
Selected authors are invited to take part in:
• Featured conversations and tailored panel sessions
• Private and public-facing engagements with readers and patrons
• On-site book presentation and signing opportunities
• Inclusion within our curated programme and promotional cycle
Given the bespoke nature of the festival, participation is offered through a limited number of programme placements each year.
If this aligns with your current priorities, I would be very happy to share further details regarding the programme structure, participation arrangements, and how we might position your work most effectively within the festival.
Would you be open to receiving more information?
Warmest regards,
Rosalind Mulholland
Festival Director
Ballyscullion Park Book Festival
Email: rosalind.ballyscullionbookfest@gmail.com
Website: https://ballyscullionparkbookfestival.com/](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Book-festival-scam-Ballyscullion.png)
The writer was flattered. But…given that they were in the USA and the Ballyscullion festival is in Northern Ireland, how would attendance work, exactly? Not to worry, “Rosalind Mulholland” explained: “We do offer a trusted representative option, where your work is presented on your behalf, your book is displayed, and readers are engaged with just as intentionally, so you can still benefit from the festival without the stress of travel.”
With the writer reassured, “Rosalind” got to the point. (Note the first line of the email below: this kind of faux-empathetic engagement is a very common opener for AI-generated responses to authors’ concerns or questions. The use of “thoughtful”, also, is an AI tell: I see it constantly in the AI scam emails authors share with me.)
![From: Rosalind Mulholland <rosalind.ballyscullionbookfest@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2026 6:20 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Re: A Curated Invitation: Ballyscullion Park Book Festival 2026
Dear [redacted],
Thank you for your thoughtful note, I completely understand, and I truly appreciate your openness.
I’ll keep this simple, as requested.
For this year, participation is structured across two accessible options, depending on the level of visibility and positioning you would prefer for Estelle:
Special Placement: within the range of $500 and below
Ultra-Special Placement: from $650 and above, offering a more elevated level of positioning and engagement within the programme
Both options are designed to ensure your book is properly presented, promoted, and made available to our audience, with or without your physical attendance.
I completely understand your considerations around timing and budget, especially with a new book on the horizon. There is absolutely no pressure at all, I simply wanted to give you a clear idea of how it’s structured so you can decide what feels right for you.
If it’s something you’d like to explore further, just let me know, and I’ll be happy to outline the materials we would need and how everything would be arranged.](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Book-festival-scam-Ballyscullion-fees.png)
Dismayed, the author wrote back that they couldn’t afford that kind of money. Once again, “Rosalind” had a solution: a “Mini Special Placement” for just $175 (scammers are often willing to reduce the price for authors who object). The author was also asked for several items to “properly represent” their book at the festival, including a “book mockup” and a book trailer: items the scammer was betting that the author didn’t have on hand and thus could potentially be charged to produce. The initial fee demand is often just an opener, which is why scammers are so willing to reduce it: it tells the scammer whether the writer is willing to pay, and therefore may be willing to pay more.
Here’s the payment info the scammer sent–wire transfer, which scammers are fond of because it can’t generally be disputed or reversed.
![From: Rosalind Mulholland <rosalind.ballyscullionbookfest@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2026 10:46 AM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Re: A Curated Invitation: Ballyscullion Park Book Festival 2026
𝗧𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲: 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺
𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿:
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹:
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: 𝗞𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶
𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 214509115696
𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 101019644
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: 9450 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗢𝗥, 97008, 𝗨𝗦𝗔
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: +1901-501-9443
𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹
𝗔𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: $175
𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗠𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Book-festival-scam-Ballyscullion-bank.png)
Again, if you’ve been reading here for a while, this will look familiar: a third-party payee, a Nigerian name, and one of the Nigerian scammers’ two favorite banks (the other is Wells Fargo). I’m guessing this email wasn’t AI-produced, but dashed off by the scammer themself: notice how their previously flawless English slips a little.
I’ve seen similar solicitations impersonating the Turin International Book Fair, the LA Times Festival of Books, the Pike’s Peak Writers Conference, the Nantucket Book Festival, and the PEN America Literary Gala, all with similarly bogus Gmail addresses: turininternationalbookfair@gmail.com, eventinfo.latimes.gmail.com, authors.ppwc.net@gmail.com, andreaassistantorganizer@gmail.com, karen.mehiel.penamerica.event@gmail.com. Doubtless there are many more.
Radio Show Impersonations
The M.O. here is basically the same: a flattering email invitation from a radio show or station the writer will easily be able to confirm is real. In this case, LBC Radio:
![From: James Brien <lbc.art.podcast@gmail.com>
To: [redacted]
Cc: [redacted]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 11:55:13 AM PDT
Subject: Re: LBC Radio – Author Interview Invitation for [redacted]
Dear [redacted]
I hope you’re doing well.
My name is James O'Brien, and I’m reaching out to invite you to take part in a potential author interview on LBC Radio, one of the UK’s leading talk radio stations with a wide and highly engaged audience.
We are currently curating a series of monthly author conversations, highlighting bold, genre-defying storytelling across literature and graphic fiction. Your work on [redacted] stood out for its electrifying fusion of pulp adventure and hard-boiled noir within a richly imagined fantasy world.
In particular, we were drawn to:
• The reimagining of [redacted] through a gritty, noir-inspired lens
• The high-stakes revenge narrative centered around the mysterious [redacted]
• The sharp blend of action, intrigue, and psychological tension
• The dynamic collaboration between storytelling and striking visual artistry
The proposed interview would explore:
• Your approach to blending noir storytelling with [redacted]elements
• Reinterpreting an iconic character like [redacted] for a modern audience
• The creative collaboration behind the artwork and narrative tone
• What readers can expect from this darker, more atmospheric take on the character
LBC Radio is known for its engaging and wide-ranging conversations, including discussions around storytelling, pop culture, and creative innovation. We believe your insights would resonate strongly with listeners who appreciate bold reinventions and visually driven narratives.
Our interviews are relaxed and conversational, designed to create meaningful dialogue and connect creators with a wider audience.
We are flexible with scheduling and would be delighted to feature you in an upcoming segment at a time that suits you.
It would be a pleasure to share your work and creative perspective with our listeners.
Looking forward to the possibility of connecting.
All the best,
James O'Brien](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Interview-scam-solicitation.png)
On further correspondence, the writer discovered that there was a “standard participation fee” for the interview. “This,” the scammer explained, “covers production, placement, and promotion across our audience network to ensure your feature receives strong visibility and engagement.” It’s typical scammer gaslighting, intended to soothe any suspicion of pay-to-play: you’re not paying for the interview, just for promotion of the interview! It’s in your best interest!
The writer, who had quickly identified the scam, requested payment information. And just as you’d expect:
![From: James Brien <lbc.art.podcast@gmail.com>
To: [redacted]
Cc: [redacted]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 11:55:13 AM PDT
Subject: Re: LBC Radio – Author Interview Invitation for [redacted]
Thank you for your response, I appreciate your willingness to proceed.
The interview participation fee is $350. You can make the transfer using our bank manager details below:
Account Name: Francis Ademola Adegoke
Bank Name: Wells Fargo
Account Number: 40630207453805725
Account Type: Checking
Routing Number: 121000248
Bank Address: 651 N Broad St, Suite 206, Middletown, Delaware, 19709, US
Once the payment is completed, kindly send a confirmation or screenshot so we can proceed with scheduling.](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Interview-scam-bank.png)
The payment demands for this scam differ; several have a tiered fee structure, like the one in the email below. Notice the gaslighting about fees, and also the classic AI smarmy response to author caveats in the first line (the author had flatly refused to pay for anything).
![From: GB News Radio. Uk. <info.gbnewsradio.uk@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2026 10:04 AM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Re: Invitation to Feature Your [redacted] on GB News Radio – Author Spotlight Series
Dear [redacted]
Thank you for your honest reply, and I sincerely apologize again for the earlier mix up. I completely understand your concern.
I just wanted to briefly clarify our intention. Our focus is on promoting authors and helping their books gain meaningful visibility with the right audience. The fee mentioned is not a requirement for the interview itself, but rather a form of support toward the promotional work we carry out around the feature. We cover the majority of the production and outreach costs on our end.
That is also why we offer two optional packages, depending on how much visibility an author would like for their work:
Standard Author Feature Package at $175 includes:
• The interview
• On air promotion
• A digital campaign
• Search visibility support
• Distribution support
• A social media mention
Premium Author Visibility Package at $350 includes:
• Everything in the standard package
• Priority scheduling
• Priority broadcast placement
• Extended promotion
• A dedicated campaign
• Advanced visibility support
• Expanded distribution
• A more tailored promotion strategy](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Interview-scam-fee-tiers.png)
I’ve also seen solicitations from Magic UK Radio, 2GB Sydney Radio, Newsradio WTAM 1100 in Cleveland OH, GB News Radio in the UK, the BBC, iHeart Radio, various shows on NPR, the Waterstones podcast, Mutiny Radio, Monacle Radio, and WYPR in Baltimore MD–all from bogus Gmail addresses like the ones above. Canada’s CBC has also been impersonated by this scam.
What to Look For
Since, as noted above, interviews and conference/festival appearances are an area where unexpected emails are common, how to distinguish the flood of scams from contacts that are real? Look for the indicators below.
- A Gmail, or occasionally an AOL, email address where you’d normally expect the contact to come from a company or event email domain. Visit the event or radio show website to see if you can verify what the real email address is.
- A non-typical salutation. Using myself as an example: Dear Victoria Strauss, rather than Dear Victoria or Dear Ms. Strauss. Or Dear Author. Or no salutation at all. First name/last name is the one I see most often; that’s what both of the solicitations above used.
- An extended discussion of your book’s theme or plot points, and/or effusive praise (as in the radio show solicitation above). A genuine invite won’t necessarily not include these–but both are established AI scam M.O.s, and should always prompt extra caution.
- Fees where they aren’t normally charged. Neither radio shows nor book festivals require payment from invited guests. But a scammer will always wind up asking for money–even if it takes several email exchanges for that to become apparent.
- Be wary of these payment methods, which are commonly used by scammers because unlike credit card transactions, they are difficult or impossible to reverse: wire transfers, Upwork or Fiverr invoices, Paypal Friends and Family. Lately I’m also seeing payment requests via a platform called Coachli; there’s nothing fraudulent about the platform itself, as far as I know, but it is a platform specifically tailored to Nigerian and African service and content providers, and I’ve documented several Nigerian scams that have used it.
Beware of marketing offers hidden in legit offers. I had a table at BookCon this year and the host org offered a menu of marketing packages, which were legit but too much for me. Then we got another offer in the next few days, less expensive and with the promise of delivering an email list of attendees. When I said I only wanted fantasy readers they promised a specialized list. I bought the marketing offer then got a humongous list that could not have been accurate. When I asked the original
Host org they said the company was bogus and they never would have sold emails. But since it was tucked into the legit offers I fell for it. PayPal refunded the money thank God.
I often get emails from people offering lists of email addresses for purchase–sometimes it’s a general category, such as libraries or bookstores, but sometimes it’s similar to what you describe: emails supposedly for attendees of specific conferences or other events. So this is a pretty common scam. Glad PayPal refunded you.
My novel was shown at the London Book Fair. Laura told me that a producer liked my novel. She said his name was Irwin or something like that. When I talked to this company, they said “No one showed interest in your novel.” Now they want me to pay $2,000 for my novel to be shown in Beijing, China and the Manilla, Philippines. I can’t say the name of the company because we are awaiting a refund. Authors have to be careful when hiring a publisher.
Hope you get your refund.
Speaking of taking books to book fairs…it’s not always a scam (in the sense that your book really does get displayed in a booth at the fair)…but it is a waste of money. Here’s why.
Yes, I appreciate your helpful warnings.
I’ve been getting tons of these offers, almost no time to write after I go through all my emails on a daily basis, but like you say, there are the occasional REAL ones. Who can I trust? I got an interview request finally that didn’t request a fee and I did it without problems. So there is hope, although with all my wasted time trying to market my series I’ve had little time to actually write. What else can I do but delete or mark most emails as spam before the back and forth wastes my precious time?
I get it. It’s incredibly annoying and frustrating. But right now, with this scam flooding inboxes, the likelihood of an invite being genuine is so low that deleting and blocking is the most rational response.
I most likely received all the ones mentioned. It is disheartening for writers who put so much effort into their work. I block all of them, but there are scammers everywhere.
Just this morning I had a book festival email. That was the first of THIS type of scam. It’s come to the point if someone emails me with a gmail address, I delete.
I get lots of these nowadays. I almost passed up a legitimate invitation to a podcast (down on my level) because I assumed it was an AI invite. At work we learned that many of them are using font replacement to make more authentic email addresses (i.e. using a Greek epsilon instead of an “e” so they can use legitimate company email address). Be careful out there!
I have a form letter for the literary scammers: easy to pick as they are fulsome. Anyone asking me to appear on air or at a festival already knows that I’ll know why they ant to talk to me. I have a form letter response, pointing out their harm, not just to authors but all those authors help, with their work, advice, mentoring, or just alleviating loneliness with a reply. Today, after about 400 scams, I did get a response. ‘I know. I’m sorry.’
It was worth answering the 400 others.
How To Trick an Online Scammer Into Carving a Computer Out of Wood
Ingenious acts of cyber-vengeance
By Ron Rosenbaum
June 2007 Issue
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/06/how-to-trick-an-online-scammer-into-carving-a-computer-out-of-wood/305903/
I have a question. Have you received anything from Business Insider Roundtable to do a podcast on a Google Meet video call? Not all of their email addresses end in an @gmail.com. Some end in other @projectman. or @busines.co or something like this. I’d love some feedback. Thanks 🙂
Yep, I’ve had them. I look for their gmail address. Then, no thanks.
I’ve not received this type of scam solicitation, but I have received multiple invites to book clubs and author spotlights, featuring my book. Platforms like this are greatly appreciated, exposing the typical strategies scammers use. We’re onto them… they follow a script.
I got one of these emails, pretending to be Wigtown Festival in Scotland. They use the name of someone who actually works there, but I checked the email against the email on the website and of course it wasn’t the same.
I contacted Wigtown Festival to let them know and they did confirm they had several reports of the same.
I did appreciate learning about this festival though because I would love to attend. It looks amazing.
Every day, I receive at least 25 of these types of solicitations in every variety you can imagine. There are almost always “tells” of one kind or another, with 2 first names as the interested party’s ID being the most common. Very rarely do they mention me by my given/author name. And they typically mention my book, but don’t say which one, and if they do, like you said, they throw praise as a detailed synopsis at me, like I should be impressed when it’s easy to see they haven’t really read it. The film adaptation offers are the most numerous of late, and I still get magazine and podcast offers. If I hadn’t been at this for so long, I might be flattered enough to believe the BS and click on a provided link or reply to the email. But old “vets” like me know very well that this type of cold call offer is unrealistic. It just doesn’t happen, at least not like these offers. I don’t even bother reading them anymore. I simply “report phishing” then block. But even that doesn’t stop the same people from emailing me from a slightly different address. I feel bad for inexperienced or even less experienced writers who believe these are legit offers and get taken for an expensive ride.
Yeah lots of similar ones. One from the Sante Fe International Literary Festival 2026 including language taken from their real website. Too bad “Claire Zahner, Executive Producer” does not actually work there. I forwarded it to the actual Festival and they said festivals across the country were being impersonated, and they reported these “to Google” (not sure what that means).
Thank you for your warnings. I received my first such message yesterday, from a Kirby Sandmeyer, a supposed editor at HarperCollins Publishers LLC. The email gushes about a book that I am not writing.
Nice to know that I am not the only one getting these.
Great ways to avoid author scams. Here’s another that I recently used. A.I. programs don’t respond well to jokes–basically, they don’t get them. Why? Thirty years ago, there was a slogan, “garbage in–garbage out,” which applied to the early development of computers. Assume that the AI programmers have learned that lesson–sort of.
Responding to humor and satire is still out of the programmer’s competence. Maybe next week will be different, but as of today, AI doesn’t know how to respond to satire, and its ability to generate humorous responses (when they are appropriate) is nonexistent. So ask a question, prepare for a defensive response, and their plea to reconsider. And the joke you made in your last email? Most likely ignored.
one bit of evidence of AI is that ‘letters’ almost always start with “hope you are doing well ” but I am sure you are well aware of that one
I almost fell for a book marketing scam this week. The conversation was surprisingly human, really convincing. The sophistication of these chatbots is scary. When the solicitor, “Natalie Brooks” couldn’t do a zoom call to verify their humanity, I blocked her/it. You may have alerted writers to these sophisticated chat abilities already, but it surprised the hell out of me.
It’s all getting out of control. Meanwhile, most big tech keeps assuring us there are no dangers. Before all of those who visit here will have died, AI Judges and attorneys will be common. They are already doing the paralegal tasks. Before it’s over, those stupid metal cops on THX-31 will be pulling us over.
What a great suckage we have released upon ourselves. Always in the name of “saving money.”
I always brighten the room.
* those stupid cops in THX 1138
I got one from Natalie Brooks as well. Scamming writers is as low as one can get. Sad.
I’ve been getting a lot of these too. I’ve noticed they tend to have “insights” about my books based on the wording in the description rather than understanding built on reading them. It makes for some comical nonsense in their flattery. If, for some reason, one came that sounded plausible, I would look up the company website and contact them directly to verify, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Thanks for doing this blog!
I’ve gotten many such emails recently. The main ones I see are from book clubs that all for a free to promote and feature a book with a lot of praise for my writing. Recently I’ve gotten one from someone claiming to be Mary Mount Don Macmillian publishers, and one from the New Yorker Radio. The emails all were from gmail.com. Thanks for the heads up!
Thank you Victoria. I receive-on a DAILY BASIS, mind you- 4 or 5 emails or similar requests via FB or X. I appear to be extremely popular these days… 🙂
Scams work as long as there are authors “dying to be published.”
I agree with you.
100 points for using “glommed.”
I love that word.
I wish that I had known about your website a year sooner. It seems that about 90% of the attention my book, What If…, has attracted has come from scammers.
I got one from a “radio personality” pretending to be a guy from a Vernon, British Columbia, Canada community radio station. Which is hilarious. I reached out to the guy to let him know there was an impersonation scam running in his name. He was a cool guy. Anyway, that’s the story about why I’m now a member of a Facebook group for a community radio station on the complete other side of the country as me.