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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/25\/books\/filippo-bernardini-manuscript-thief-publishing-scam.html?emc=edit_nn_20260925&nl=the-morning&segment_id=227047",
    "parsed_content": "What to ReadFind Your Next BookFantasyScience FictionThrillersRomanceCredit...Ben DenzerSkip to contentSkip to site indexSearch & Section NavigationSection NavigationAccountAccountGoHome U.S.SECTIONSU.S.PoliticsNew YorkCaliforniaEducationHealthObituariesScienceClimateWeatherSportsBusinessTechThe UpshotThe MagazineTOP STORIESDonald TrumpSupreme CourtCongressImmigrationAbortionLatest PollsNEWSLETTERSThe MorningMake sense of the day\u2019s news and ideas.The EveningCatch up on big news, and wind down to end your day.See all newslettersPODCASTSThe DailyThe biggest stories of our time, in 20 minutes a day.See all podcastsWorldSECTIONSWorldAfricaAmericasAsiaAustraliaCanadaEuropeMiddle EastScienceClimateWeatherHealthObituariesTOP STORIESMiddle East CrisisRussia-Ukraine WarChina International RelationsThe Global ProfileLeer en Espa\u00f1olNEWSLETTERSThe WorldA guide to understanding the news, made for readers around the globe.Your Places: Global UpdateThe latest news for any part of the world you select.Canada LetterBackstories and analysis from our Canadian correspondents.See all newslettersBusinessSECTIONSBusinessTechEconomyMediaFinance and MarketsDealBookPersonal TechEnergy TransitionYour MoneyTOP STORIESU.S. EconomyStock MarketArtificial IntelligenceNEWSLETTERSDealBookThe most crucial business and policy news you need to know.On TechOur best tech reporting from the week.See all newslettersPODCASTSHard ForkOur tech journalists help you make sense of the rapidly changing tech world.See all podcastsArtsSECTIONSToday's ArtsBook ReviewBest SellersDanceMoviesMusicTelevisionTheaterPop CultureT MagazineVisual ArtsRECOMMENDATIONS100 Best Movies of the 21st CenturyCritic\u2019s PicksWhat to ReadWhat to WatchWhat to Listen To5 Minutes to Make You Love MusicNEWSLETTERSBooksReviews, news and features to help you find your next read.WatchingStreaming TV and movie recommendations.See all newslettersPODCASTSBook ReviewThe podcast that takes you inside the literary world.PopcastPop music news, new songs and albums, and artists of note.See all podcastsLifestyleSECTIONSAll LifestyleWellTravelStyleReal EstateFoodLoveYour MoneyPersonal TechT MagazineCOLUMNS36 HoursAsk WellThe HuntModern LoveWhere to EatVowsSocial Q\u2019sThe EthicistAsk the TherapistNEWSLETTERSThe WeekenderUnwind with stories about culture and the way we live.WellEssential news and guidance to live your healthiest life.See all newslettersPODCASTSModern LoveThe complicated love lives of real people.See all podcastsOpinionSECTIONSOpinionGuest EssaysEditorialsOp-DocsVideosLettersTOPICSPoliticsWorldBusinessTechClimateHealthCultureCOLUMNISTSJamelle BouieMaureen DowdDavid FrenchThomas L. 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Is He Back?The man who admitted to stealing hundreds of manuscripts swore he\u2019d never do it again. New online skulduggery resembles his old tricks, and then some.Credit...Ben DenzerSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTListen \u00b7 11:56 min Share full articleBy Miguel SalazarSept. 25, 2026Last month, the author Catherine Lacey received an email whose subject line quoted from the beginning of her next novel, \u201cGemma.\u201d The message contained a passage from the unfinished manuscript followed by a wall of 48 middle finger emojis.\u201cHey, I\u2019m the Spine Collector and I stole your manuscript!\u201d the message read. \u201cCall the police and put me in jail. You know who I am.\u201dThe email was not entirely unexpected. Two weeks earlier, Lacey discovered that she had sent her manuscript to a Hotmail account impersonating her literary agent, Jin Auh. When she first explained what had happened, Auh gave her an exasperated response: Remember the guy who was caught stealing manuscripts years earlier? It seemed he might be back.In 2022, the F.B.I. arrested Filippo Bernardini, then a rights coordinator at Simon & Schuster U.K., on counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Over more than five years, Bernardini created some 160 fraudulent internet domains, prosecutors argued, and impersonated hundreds of publishing professionals to obtain more than a thousand unpublished manuscripts.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTBernardini pleaded guilty to wire fraud in January 2023. He avoided prison time but was deported from the United States and ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution to Penguin Random House.\u201cAt one level, it\u2019s a prank,\u201d the presiding judge, Colleen McMahon, said at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s a prank that\u2019s now been inflated into a crime.\u201dBy his own telling, Bernardini was motivated by factors including compulsive behavior, personal curiosity and professional animus. At his sentencing hearing, his defense lawyer also pointed to an autism diagnosis.\u201cI never leaked these manuscripts. I wanted to keep them closely to my chest and be one of the fewest to cherish them,\u201d he wrote in a letter filed to the judge that year. Having never landed the plum job as a literary agent or scout he so desired, \u201cI still wanted to believe I was part [of] the industry,\u201d he wrote, \u201ceven though the industry did not seem to want me.\u201d\u201cI know that I will not do it again,\u201d he added, \u201cand I have learned my lesson.\u201dSince then, many in the book business have fallen for a scheme of unknown origin that resembles Bernardini\u2019s work, but with a few twists.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIn interviews with The New York Times, more than a dozen authors, agents and literary scouts have described emails from impersonator accounts seeking manuscripts over the past several months. The messages bear the hallmarks of Bernardini\u2019s original scheme: look-alike emails, carefully replicated fonts and signatures, fluency in industry slang and an intimate knowledge of relationships in the book world. Money is never involved.For at least three years, authors and agents have also been receiving emails from a Gmail address bearing Bernardini\u2019s name, with the surname spelled \u201cBemardini,\u201d with an \u201cm\u201d in place of the \u201crn.\u201d (The move recalls one of Bernardini\u2019s original tricks: He often slightly tweaked domain names so that an email appearing to come from penguinrandomhouse.com in fact read \u201cpenguinrandornhouse.com,\u201d with an \u201crn\u201d in place of an \u201cm.\u201d) The messages often contain excerpts from stolen manuscripts along with taunts and, usually, middle finger or poop emojis.ImageVincenzo LatronicoCredit...Federico Ciamei for The New York TimesThe Italian novelist Vincenzo Latronico received one such email in May, with an excerpt from his forthcoming novel, \u201cUna splendida rovina\u201d (\u201cA Splendid Ruin\u201d). Latronico had heard from Bernardini years earlier about another manuscript, and even wrote an article about the scammer for the Italian magazine Internazionale in 2025. Initially, he was amused.\u201cIt was kind of a genius move,\u201d Latronico said, referring to the account\u2019s Gmail address. \u201cIt\u2019s like saying, \u2018You know, anybody could be doing this.\u2019\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTStill, Latronico was concerned. How had this person gotten hold of his work? Had it been leaked online? He scoured his inbox for phishing emails \u2014 as did his Italian agent and editor \u2014 and found none. Then Latronico searched for his novel online and found his manuscript free to download online. He also came across a negative review on a small blog called Literary Scout.At first glance, the website appears to be a run-of-the-mill books blog with reviews of books ranging from debut literary fiction to thrillers, translated works and Zadie Smith\u2019s latest novel. Many of the most recent reviews are of books that have yet to be published.This alone isn\u2019t a red flag \u2014 publishers often share early copies of books with potential reviewers months ahead of a book\u2019s release date. But in several cases, the reviews were posted just days following the announcement of a book deal, before publishers shared the manuscripts widely.Some of the reviews refer to plot details and character names that have since changed from previous drafts. One review, of Eli Rallo\u2019s debut novel, \u201cI Hope Eden Reads This,\u201d explicitly refers to sample chapters from a book proposal.ImageThe literaryscout.net home page links to a number of reviews \u2014 some of books whose manuscripts have not yet been shared by their publishers, even with early reviewers.None of the books reviewed received a higher rating than one out of five stars. (Some of the latest reviews feature poop and vomit emojis near the rating.) \u201cCash Out,\u201d by Nick Hornby, forthcoming in January, is described as \u201can overextended anecdote narrated in the same lightly ironic voice for far too long.\u201d Louise Erdrich\u2019s novel \u201cI\u2019m Hungry,\u201d publishing in April, is called \u201coverlong, overstuffed and structurally hungry.\u201d And \u201cPeculiar Stars,\u201d by Rebecca Yarros, due out in November, is dismissed as \u201can overblown trope machine.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe website\u2019s recent activity and the scornful phishing scheme may be related. A review of \u201cGemma\u201d was posted on July 24, the same day Lacey sent her manuscript to the account impersonating her agent \u2014 and only two days after the book industry website Publishers Marketplace announced that Farrar, Straus & Giroux had acquired the book.Perhaps most alarmingly, some manuscripts of unpublished books reviewed on Literary Scout, including \u201cCash Out\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Hungry,\u201d have also appeared on Z-Library, a so-called shadow library storing millions of titles, in many cases without permission. Several authors confirmed that the reviews contained details exclusive to the manuscripts stored on the website.It\u2019s unclear who is behind any of these recent schemes, and whether they are the work of Bernardini, a copycat or multiple individuals. Neither Bernardini nor the operator of the Bemardini account responded to requests for comment from The Times.It\u2019s similarly difficult to categorize the damage of theft with no obvious financial incentive. Only a handful of unpublished manuscripts that were reviewed on Literary Scout are also on Z-Library. Even so, uncorrected galleys and early copies of anticipated works are often uploaded unlawfully well before a book\u2019s release.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe emails are something of an open secret among publishing professionals. Still, many have refrained from speaking publicly out of concern for being targeted, to avoid any reputational damage and to minimize the attention given to the scheme. As for the blog, much of the book business seems unaware of its existence.\u201cIt\u2019s probably more of a concern now considering how A.I. has become part of the conversation,\u201d said Kent Wolf, a rights director at the agency Neon Literary. \u201cThe question is: \u2018What is this person doing with my novel?\u2019\u201dIn the years since Bernardini\u2019s initial arrest, artificial intelligence has infiltrated, and bewildered, the books world. A.I. has powered phishing scams that target writers, chatbots used on the sly in the writing process and detection tools that have led to canceled book releases, and it has prompted numerous lawsuits by publishers against tech companies.Given the rate of the blog\u2019s output, its language \u2014 one writer noted most of the descriptions were pulled from online promotional material \u2014 and how quickly some of the reviews have been posted after the manuscripts were swindled, some authors are concerned that the thief is feeding the stolen works into A.I. models. The Times evaluated dozens of the reviews (including those for \u201cGemma,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Hungry\u201d and \u201cCash Out\u201d) using several detection tools, and found it was highly likely that many of them were generated by A.I.\u201cThe business model of all these LLM companies is already based on theft,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cSo to have somebody that knows how the publishing industry works just aid and abet it? It feels especially bad.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTImageCatherine LaceyCredit...Peter Fisher for The New York TimesThe nature of the reviews also poses risks for early career authors. Nick Hornby or Louise Erdrich may not lose readers over a negative review on a small blog, but the reputational hit could hurt emerging novelists, including those working in non-English languages, said Latronico. (\u201cPerfection,\u201d his first novel to be translated into English, was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 2025.)\u201cIf my book was out on submission,\u201d he said, \u201cthis review would come up as the only review in English. It could do actual damage.\u201dThere are other consequences. Even if the impersonations are ineffective, they could still lead to mistrust in the industry, said Agnes Ahlander Turner, president of the scouting agency Maria B. Campbell Associates, who was impersonated in July.The timing could not be worse, many industry professionals warn. Authors in particular have been plagued by deceptive A.I.-generated emails promising to boost visibility in exchange for payment. Over the past several months, alerts about impersonation attempts have become increasingly commonplace below industry email signatures and on publishing websites.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIn July, Penguin Random House posted an announcement on Instagram and on its website listing recent literary scams. Scouting agencies have also added layers of security, including password-protected manuscripts and two-factor authentication, to ward off hackers. Still, ignoring scammers is one thing; snuffing them out is another \u2014 and virtually impossible.Agencies have tried to locate such scammers through their I.P. addresses, and even reported impersonator email addresses to authorities. \u201cThe problem is, they shut it down and reopen another one,\u201d said Laurence Laluyaux, the head of RCW International at the RCW Literary Agency.It can be difficult to keep a lid on drafts once they begin exchanging hands among agents, film and literary scouts, translators and editors abroad. All it takes for a manuscript to leak is a distracted email response or login information to a book scouting database hastily entered on a phishing site.At first, the Bernardini-style impersonation attempts drew a mix of irritation and amusement from the book business. Now, the leaking of manuscripts and potential use of A.I. is hardening attitudes.\u201cWe\u2019re in such a precarious situation already,\u201d said the author Carmen Maria Machado, who was impersonated last month in an email her British publisher was savvy enough not to answer. \u201cWhy would you add to that in any capacity? It just makes no sense if you truly like books.\u201dJuliana Castro Var\u00f3n and Aric Toler contributed reporting.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
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