Filipino CEO pleads guilty in $48M book publishing scam in US
msn.com – Wednesday May 20, 2026
Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, a 34-year-old businessman from the Philippines, has pleaded guilty in federal court in a fraudulent book publishing scheme that defrauded over 800 victims across the United States, resulting in losses exceeding $48 million.
Sordilla is the first of four defendants to admit taking part in the scheme, which primarily targeted senior authors by promising them major publishing deals and Hollywood adaptations in exchange for hefty upfront fees.
Innocentrix Philippines
Sordilla was the founder and CEO of Innocentrix Philippines, identified in the plea agreement as a “business process outsourcing” company.
He and his co-conspirators established fictitious businesses in the US, including: PageTurner Press and Media LLC, founded in California in September 2017, claiming to be a book publishing firm located in Chula Vista, California; Metro Films LLC, incorporated in California in April 2022, claiming to be a motion picture and sound recording company in Los Angeles; and WP Lighthouse LLC, registered in Indiana in July 2024, falsely presented as a book publishing operation in Indianapolis.
Literary Scout Philippa Donovan Sets Up Screen-To-Book Business Two Script Studio To Facilitate ‘Reverse Adaptations’
deadline.com – Tuesday May 19, 2026
Veteran literary scout Philippa Donovan wants to reverse engineer the books-to-screen market through her new business, Two Script Studio.
The operation will create ‘reverse adaptations‘ to allow producers and screenwriters to turn screenplays into novels at an early stage of development. Book rights are then pitched to literary agents and publishers to build an audience or developed as underlying IP for the film or TV project.
Donovan will also help writers rework dormant scripts for publishers, and is offering mentoring where a pitch deck or script is used for narrative structure.
Two Script is so-named to represent the idea that one story becomes two scripts at the earliest possible stage.
A prize-winning story published in Granta was (very likely) written by AI
lithub.com – Tuesday May 19, 2026
It’s another grim day at the human factory. There is strong evidence to suggest that a prize-winning short story published this week in celebrated literary magazine Granta was entirely generated by AI.
Jamir Nazir’s “The Serpent in the Grove,” was published in Granta in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation Short Story Prize, which annually recognizes unpublished fiction from around the British Commonwealth. Nazir’s story, which follows a rum-drinking farmer who comes across an enchanted grove, was the recognized entry from the Caribbean region.
A set of judges chaired by award-winning novelist Louise Doughty appreciated the story’s “precise yet richly evocative” language, and selected the piece as a regional finalist from a whopping class of 7,806 entries across the board. But literary sleuths smelled a rat.
Ethan Mollick, a Wharton professor who studies AI’s effects on education and the workplace, broke down this “Turing Test of sorts” in a helpful Bluesky thread.
How to protect against scammers – a new guide for authors
writersguild.org.uk – Monday May 18, 2026
An alarming increase in fraudulent activity targeting authors has led WGGB and the Society of Authors (SoA) to join together to issue urgent new guidance outlining measures writers can take to protect themselves.
How to protect against scammers: a guide for authors – which is published today – follows reports of a large uptick in members contacting WGGB and the SoA for advice on scams. Much of this activity is being driven by the rise of AI, which means that scams are taking more sophisticated and convincing forms, including impersonation of agents and publishers. The scammers aim to manipulate writers to part with money or sign away their rights in return for the promise of representation, publication, promotion or important connections.
The guide includes a checklist for authors to help them assess whether offers they receive are genuine or fraudulent. Advice includes being wary of convincing-seeming email addresses which scammers use to impersonate publishers, agents, big-name authors, publicists, marketing providers and others to ‘cold-email’ authors and make unsolicited offers, including attempts to try to acquire rights in books that have not been submitted to them (a practice legitimate agents or publishers would not engage with).
Call for Submissions | Iska Press and Iskanchi Magazine Want Your Unruly African Writing
brittlepaper.com – Thursday May 14, 2026
Iska Press, the Utah-based independent publisher that describes itself as a home for “unruly African literature”, is currently open for submissions on two fronts, and African writers working in English or in translation should take note.
Iskanchi Magazine, the press’s literary journal, publishes short, original, irreverent, disobedient, and experimental work, writing that pushes the boundaries of experimental fiction in both content and form. The Summer Issue is currently open, with a deadline of 30 May. Subsequent submission periods open in August for the Fall Issue and January for the Spring Issue.
Authors Guild Issues Updated AI Best Practices for Writers
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday May 12, 2026
As questions continue to swirl around how to ethically and legally use AI in the writing and publishing of books, the Authors Guild has updated its guidance to help authors better navigate the changing landscape.
The revised guidelines feature two new sections that break down the specific legal and professional risks writers should be aware of when using AI tools, along with a framework for understanding that not all AI use raises the same concerns, according to the announcement released by the Guild.
The Guild first published best practices for AI use by writers in February 2024. The newly updated best practices—the result of conversations with many writers and deliberations by the Authors Guild Council—"seek to add some context and clarity around the best practices and are provided in response to the many inquiries we have received around AI issues,” the Guild writes in its "AI Best Practices for Writers" advisory, adding “these are guidelines, not rules.”
The revised guidelines are broken down into four short sections: Guiding Principles; Risks to Be Aware of When Using AI; Categories of Use; and Recommended Best Practices.
The Periodical, NYC-Based Art and Literary Magazine, Launches
openpr.com – Monday May 11, 2026
The Periodical is a non-profit publisher and magazine dedicated to creative writing, criticism, and conversation about literature and the arts, including poetry, fiction, theatre, music, photography, film, and new media. Each issue brings together new writing and portfolios on the past, present, and future of artistic expression. Based in New York City, the magazine was founded in late 2025 by its editors Margarida Assis, Lachlan Brooks, Geoffrey Lokke, Eduardo Pavez, and Ali Yalgin. The magazine will publish its inaugural print issue in 2027. Preorders and annual print subscriptions can be purchased on the magazine's website, theperiodical.org. Readers can also support the non-profit through Patreon-paid subscribers will have access to the magazine's exclusive digital-only content including weekly reviews, essays, and recommendations.
Literature and Translation
The magazine's founding editors first met in graduate school at Columbia University and bring their diverse interests, experience, and expertise to the publication. Lachlan Brooks, an actor and poet, is the magazine's poetry and fiction editor. "My taste as a reader is eclectic: I gravitate toward poems and stories that use language in surprising ways, and will as happily read an experimental, avant-garde work as a conventional one. E. M. Forster, Machado de Assis, Daniil Kharms, and Anne Carson are equally welcome on my bedside table, and may be happy antidotes to one another." According to Brooks, the simple pleasure of reading is still the be-all and the end-all, whether it comes from a work's emotional effect, or (conversely) its undercutting of an emotional effect, its edifying power, "or simply the remarkable feeling I sometimes get that an author is enlightening me. The poetry and short fiction section of The Periodical magazine will have room for new works in the modern and postmodern traditions and works that cleave to traditional forms, as well as writing that forges its own path."
Defendant Pleads Guilty in $48 Million Nationwide Book Publishing Scam Targeting Hundreds of Seniors
justice.gov – Saturday May 9, 2026
Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, a 34-year-old citizen of the Philippines, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he conspired to perpetrate a book publishing scam that caused losses of over $48 million to more than 800 victims throughout the United States.
Sordilla is the first of four defendants to admit his role in a scheme that targeted authors — most of them seniors — by promising to elevate their work to major publishing deals and Hollywood film adaptations, all in exchange for millions of dollars in fraudulent fees.
According to his plea agreement, Sordilla was the founder and CEO of Innocentrix Philippines, which purported to be a “business process outsourcing” company in the Philippines. Sordilla admitted that he and his co-conspirators created and registered phony business entities in the United States, including:
- PageTurner Press and Media LLC (“PageTurner”), which was incorporated in California in September 2017 and claimed to be a book publishing business located in Chula Vista, California
- The Metro Films LLC (“Metro Films”), which was incorporated in California in April 2022 and claimed to be a motion picture and sound recording business located in Los Angeles, California
- WP Lighthouse LLC (“WP Lighthouse”) was registered in Indiana in July 2024 and claimed to be a book publishing business in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Pitt’s Writing Program launched a new literary journal
pittwire.pitt.edu – Thursday May 7, 2026
Diana Khoi Nguyen, associate professor and interim director of the Writing Program in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has launched 3 Sisters, a new online literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, art and hybrid work.
The inaugural issue features contributions from a wide range of writers — including a Pitt undergraduate and a folio from students at Carlow University. The journal was built and edited by a team of current Pitt MFA students and alumni who aimed to publish work that crosses or defies traditional genre categories.
Martin Literary Management Changes Hands
publishersweekly.com – Wednesday May 6, 2026
Sharlene Martin, president and longtime owner of Martin Literary Management, has announced the sale of the agency to Jennifer Newens. It will be rebranded as Martin-Newens Literary Management.
Newens has served as VP of MLM since 2023. As a part of the change in ownership, Newens will relocate the agency from Seattle, Wash. to Oakland, Calif., overseeing day-to-day operations of the business and focusing adult nonfiction.
Get the free newsletter | Submit a news item or article | Get Writers' News for your website
