Author-Baiting Scams Target Writers with Fake Book Clubs and Publishing Offers
According to The Dial, a global network of literary scams is preying on authors. These fraudulent schemes, primarily originating from Pakistan and Nigeria, involve deceptive book club invitations and misleading publishing services. Journalist Snigdha Poonam recounted her encounter with a phony Seattle group that imposed a "contribution fee." Novelist Marsh Rose discovered that the Chicago LGBTQ Book Club was a scam after receiving 29 emails, while author Jon Cocks fell victim to "Mary Brown," whose PayPal receipt revealed the name Dayo Oguntuase. The Writers' Guild of Great Britain has noted a rise in scam reports, with the PageTurner scam cheating over 800 authors out of $48 million. In February 2025, Amazon secured $36.4 million from impersonators.
Key facts
- Snigdha Poonam, author of Dreamers and Scamlands, was invited to a fake Zoom book club by someone posing as Timothy Firth of a Seattle life-drawing community.
- The scam requested a "contribution fee" and featured about 20 participants with American names but West African accents.
- Novelist Marsh Rose exchanged 29 emails with the Chicago LGBTQ Book Club before realizing the scam.
- Author Jon Cocks paid $478.65 to "Mary Brown," but the PayPal receipt showed Dayo Oguntuase as the recipient.
- The Writers' Guild of Great Britain reports an "explosion" in scam reports, with at least a dozen weekly to the Society of Authors, linked to generative AI.
- The PageTurner scam defrauded over 800 authors of more than $48 million between 2017 and 2024, with $42 million laundered through the Philippines.
- Amazon won $36.4 million in February 2025 from impersonators falsely claiming affiliation with Amazon Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing.
- A leaked spreadsheet titled "LinkedIn Outreach 2026" from a Karachi-based scammer lists 403 targeted authors with detailed outreach data.
- Pakistani companies run about 1,000 scam sites, employing young graduates who earn around 50,000 rupees ($180) monthly plus commissions.
- Danish author M. L. Stark paid $100,000 to a fake Los Angeles publisher before confronting her scammer in Thailand, who admitted the operation was based in Karachi.
Entities
Artists
- Snigdha Poonam
- Marsh Rose
- Jon Cocks
- M. L. Stark
- Angela Hoy
- Victoria Strauss
- Ellie Piers
- Anna Ganley
- Danny de Hek
- Talal Choudhary
- Salil Mahmood
- Timothy Firth
- Stephen
- Ethan Williams
- Rae Donnaelly
- Donna Strong
- Brian Whiddon
Institutions
- The Dial
- WritersWeekly.com
- Writer Beware
- Writers' Guild of Great Britain
- Society of Authors
- U.S. Authors Guild
- PageTurner
- Amazon
- Amazon Publishing
- Kindle Direct Publishing
- IngramSpark
- Red Rock Literary Agency
- Hurst
- Goodreads
- Netflix
- Paramount
- Frankfurt Book Fair
- CAM Life Drawing
- Community Improv LA
- Chicago LGBTQ Book Club
Locations
- Seattle
- United States
- India
- Delhi
- Kolkata
- Cebu
- Philippines
- Karachi
- Pakistan
- Lahore
- Nigeria
- Africa
- Thailand
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Canada
- Australia
- Europe
- Times Square
- Broadway
- Manhattan