14 May 2026
We are receiving multiple messages every day from writers who have been targeted by fraudulent emails pretending to come from Canongate editors. Please be extremely wary of approaches like these. Here’s what to look out for.
AI has made it suddenly much simpler to conduct elaborate scams aimed at writers, with approaches that are convincingly tailored to them and their work. As a result we are seeing a deluge of these scams, with editors (including Canongate editors), agents and other publishing industry professionals being impersonated at an industrial scale.
Typically these approaches begin with emails expressing enthusiasm for the writer’s work (including specific details). If the writer responds, the correspondence continues and can even grow to involve other seemingly legitimate ‘people’.
Ultimately, after leading the writer on, the goal is to extract money from them, perhaps by requiring payment for an editorial service as a condition of publication or representation.
There is no shame at all in being targeted by these kinds of scams or in wanting to believe them. They are sophisticated and cruel. The only shame belongs to the scammers.
Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself.
This is the best way to detect a fraud.
Canongate editors use @canongate.co.uk email addresses and will not contact you from other accounts or have you email them at another account. The same is true of other publishers and organisations.
Before replying, check that the domain of the email address that you are contacting is legitimate.
If the account you are emailing does not belong to a legitimate domain (@canongate.co.uk in the case of Canongate editors) then unfortunately you have been approached by a scammer. You should report the attempt as phishing/spam in your email client and not engage with them.
If you are still not 100% sure, you can find a public contact email for the publisher or agent that the email claims to be from and confirm it with them.
For example, we have an email address for general enquiries at Enable JavaScript to view protected content.. If you need to, you can reach out to us there.
It can also be worth checking for a publisher’s submission guidelines. Many publishers, including Canongate, typically acquire books through literary agents rather than approaching writers directly.
It’s disconcerting that our editors are being impersonated and heartbreaking to think of all the hopeful authors that are being preyed on.
If you are a writer, please look out for yourself and your community. Let others know that this is happening and how to look out for scams. Share this post if it is helpful.