Scammers targeting emerging and published writers -- BEWARE!
daniellebinks.substack.com – Saturday June 20, 2026
The Lonely-Hearts-Honeypot-Catfish Publishing Scams
Publishing is currently the target of unprecedented levels of scams, made easier and more nuanced by Artificial Intelligence being able to generate and target all corners of our industry.
The Guardian investigative piece into the targeting of self-published authors, really succinctly hits on the shape these scams are taking; “New wave of publishing scams mimic lonely hearts hoaxes of old – swapping promises of true love for the fantasy of literary acclaim. And the wooing process is now fully automated.”
It’s not just that these scammers - like “lonely hearts hoaxes of old” are flattering egos and writing exactly what we all want to hear about our talents, but it’s that AI is making their spiels eerily convincing.
Cheltenham Literature Festival sounds alarm over scam emails targeting writers
boringnews.co.uk – Tuesday June 16, 2026
Cheltenham Festivals has warned authors, literary agents and speakers to ignore fraudulent emails and messages that falsely claim to represent the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The urgent alert, published on 5 June, describes a wave of unsolicited communications that invite recipients to take part in the festival programme and, in some cases, ask for money.
Cassava Republic Press Is Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions for Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction
brittlepaper.com – Monday June 8, 2026
Cassava Republic Press has announced its 2026 manuscript submission windows, inviting writers to submit works across fiction and nonfiction categories on a rotating basis throughout the year. The first window, for Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction, is open now, with a deadline of June 30, 2026, at 23:59 BST. Two further windows follow later in the year.
Cassava Republic wants work in its best possible shape before submission. Writers should send a 500-word summary of the book alongside the first three chapters of the manuscript, submitted as a Word attachment. The file should be named in the following format: date of submission (dd.mm.yy), first name, surname, book title — for example, Cassava Submission: Yinka Allen, To Play With Fire. The author’s name should appear only on the title page and nowhere else in the manuscript.
Killer Shorts Horror Writing Competition Open NOW With New Category for Feature Screenplays!
bloody-disgusting.com – Sunday June 7, 2026
The annual genre competition dedicated to finding and launching the next generation of horror writing talent, this year’s Killer Shorts is now officially open for entries!
Founded in 2019, Killer Shorts has established itself as a premier industry launchpad. The competition connects screenwriters and prose authors directly with the executives, managers, and producers who actively greenlight and option dark genre cinema.
But this year’s competition isn’t only about killer horror shorts…
For this brand new season, Killer Shorts is expanding its categories to include feature-length screenplays alongside its traditional short script, one-page script, and short story divisions.
Wiley Buys Emerald Publishing
mrweb.com – Sunday June 7, 2026
In New Jersey, research publisher Wiley has acquired Emerald Publishing from Cambridge Information Group (CIG) in an all-cash transaction valued at £337 million. The buy strengthens Wiley's offer in the social sciences - especially economics, business and finance.
Wiley, established in 1807, is today positioned as 'a global leader in research, publishing and knowledge solutions... dedicated to the creation and application of knowledge'. It operates AI-powered platforms which it says 'transform how knowledge is discovered, accessed, and applied.'
Emerald was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in the UK. The 'scholarly' publisher boasts nearly 500 journal brands, 8,000 book titles, and an extensive archive of case studies and backfile content worldwide. Wiley's positions in accounting, management, strategy, education, engineering, information and knowledge management, operations, public policy and environmental management will all be boosted by the deal, and will deepen its proprietary content offer for AI and data analytics. Following the buy Wiley's journal portfolio will rise to c.2,500 titles.
Star-studded line-up unveiled for Scottish crime writing festival
thenational.scot – Friday June 5, 2026
Richard Osman, Lucy Foley and Lee Child will be among the authors taking part in a “sensational” crime writing festival in September, organisers have announced.
Writer Denise Mina, guest programmer for the Bloody Scotland festival, has unveiled the programme for the event which takes place in Stirling later this year.
Other authors appearing include Liz Nugent, Sarah Pinborough, Gregg Hurwitz and Robert Bryndza, as well as Irish crime writer Andrea Mara and one of China’s bestselling writers Cai Jun.
Scottish writers on the line-up include Harriet Tyce, Chris Brookmyre, Alex Gray, Lin Anderson, Louise Welsh and Graeme Macrae Burnet.
Denise Mina said: “If Bloody Scotland 2026 is even half as much fun as I had helping to put this festival together then it’s going to be bloody brilliant. See you there!”
Broadcasters Robert Peston, Olly Smith and Jeremy Vine will also be taking part in the festival, as will Irish comedian and Father Ted actor, Ardal O’Hanlon.
There will also be a range of non-fiction events including How to Clean A Crime Scene with Ben Giles and A History Of Modern Britain In Twenty Murders with Professor David Wilson.
Publishing professionals are becoming prime targets for impersonation
thenextweb.com – Thursday June 4, 2026
An aspiring author receives an email from a “literary agent” expressing enthusiasm about their manuscript. The message is polished, personalized, and professional. The sender references recent bestsellers, adaptation potential, and submission strategy. The agency website looks legitimate, the LinkedIn profile appears credible, and the tone sounds authoritative and reassuring. Then comes the catch with one of the following: a “representation onboarding fee,” a paid representation package, a marketing retainer, or perhaps a request for the full manuscript that surreptitiously disappears into piracy networks. The real literary agent whose identity was stolen may not even know the scam is happening.
As Mark Gottlieb, an Executive Vice President & Literary Agent at Trident Media Group, has observed firsthand: artificial intelligence has not merely accelerated publishing fraud, it has industrialized it. Increasingly, literary agents have become some of the easiest and most effective identities for scammers to impersonate.
For over 100 years, literary agents have served as trusted intermediaries between writers and the publishing industry. They have functioned as curators, advocates, negotiators, editors, strategists, and gatekeepers. Their role has traditionally depended on one essential currency above all else: trust. Tech-driven impersonators are threatening to erode that trust.
Renowned authors to appear at this year’s Frome Festival
frometimes.co.uk – Wednesday June 3, 2026
A wealth of literary events, including talks from well-known authors and writing workshops, are planned as part of this year’s Frome Festival.
The group organising the literary events, Words at Frome Festival, says this year’s festival will feature more events than in previous years, alongside the 10th anniversary of the Frome Publishing Fair.
Local author Alison Clink, speaking on behalf of the group, said, “We have many more literary events this year than in the past. Audiences will be treated to talks by well-known writers, writing workshops and the opportunity for budding novelists to meet with literary agents who will be coming to Frome to help guide them towards publication.”
During the festival, which runs from 3rd to 12th July, Frome will welcome Booker Prize shortlisted author Andrew Miller, who will discuss his latest novel The Land in Winter with author Emma Craigie; novelist and biographer Nicholas Shakespeare, whose political thriller Frame 37 is published this May; novelist and academic Emily Hauser, author of Mythica, a study of women in ancient Greek mythology; plus Satish Kumar, Winnie Li, Lily Dunn, Harriet Derioz, poets Kate Fox and Jenny Mitchell, and local authors Peter Clark and Annie Elliot.
Introducing The Colby Review
news.colby.edu – Friday May 22, 2026
Writer-in-Residence Zach Peckham and 23 student editors band together to create a brand-new, student-led literary journal
Zach Peckham earned this launch party. The standing-room-only crowd in the Mary Low Coffeehouse. His colleagues peppering the room. Students jockeying for space, juggling iced matcha and chilled cold brews. Even the sunlight streaming through the bay window felt deserved.
Everyone was fired up, and the buzz wasn’t from the caffeine.
Peckham approached the mic, his sandy hair slightly ruffled from the heat and energy. “I came here this year to teach editing and publishing courses and to make this object,” he declared jubilantly, holding up The Colby Review, a brand-new, student-led literary journal published by the Creative Writing Program. “I guess we were successful—we have an object!”
As faculty editor of The Colby Review, he had been anticipating this moment for months.
“I’ve had the time of my life getting to be here with you all,” said Peckham, his yearlong residency nearing its end. “And what we put together here is messy, and cool, and confusing, and fun as hell.”
The inaugural issue of The Colby Review is available in hard copy and has an online presence.
Words ’N’ Wishes has acquired Nigel Quiney and Paper Rose
pgbuzz.net – Thursday May 21, 2026
Rod Brown and Carl Salt add two more brands to their publishing portfolio
Nigel Quiney Publications and Paper Rose have been sold to Rod Brown and Carl Salt, owners of the Wigan-based Words ’N’ Wishes.
The news broke late last night, with an official announcement released this morning, 20 May, by Rod who said: “Words ’N’ Wishes is pleased to announce that following lengthy discussions with Paul Taylor we have completed the acquisitions of publishers Nigel Quiney Publications Ltd and Paper Rose Ltd with immediate effect.
“Words ’N’ Wishes has been very fortunate to have built a strong publishing business over the last 15 years and have been looking for a while to find the right opportunity to strengthen our market presence in what has been and continues to be a challenging marketplace.
“Once we got into discussions with Paul regarding both highly-regarded companies it was not a difficult decision to close on. Both publishers have a history of good product and therefore, with the necessary financial support and working capital, will allow them to continue to drive their product strengths.
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