A Real Example of a Cleverly Crafted Email from a Kensington Books Impersonator

WARNING ABOUT KENSINGSTON BOOKS (THE FAKE ONE) / KensingstonBooks.com!!!

Q –

Angela,

Is this guy legit? I love you guys, but if he is offering a traditional contract…

From: John Scognamiglio <jscognamiglio@kensingstonbooks.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2026 6:22 AM
Subject: [Book title removed by WritersWeekly…and it wasn’t even the correct title for the author’s book!]

Hello [Author’s Name Removed by WritersWeekly],

My name is John Scognamiglio, Editor-in-Chief at Kensington Publishing.

[NO, THAT’S NOT HIS NAME!! AND, NOTICE HOW HE USES THE ACTUAL COMPANY’S NAME…BUT IT DOESN’T EXACTLY MATCH THE EMAIL ADDRESS! IT’S ONE LETTER OFF!!]

[Author’s correct book title was used here by the scammer, but WritersWeekly removed it for privacy reasons] recently came to my attention, and I was particularly drawn to the way you connect [character’s name removed by WritersWeekly] experiences with [character name removed] present-day investigation into his father’s military service. The movement between past and present, as [character name removed] pieces together historical memories and current events while uncovering a danger much closer to home than he realizes, gives the novel a compelling combination of historical drama, family mystery, and suspense.

At Kensington, we look for work with a strong individual voice that offers something meaningful to its readers. Your writing fits that description, and I believe the [book title removed] could have a place within our publishing program.

There are two things I would like to raise. First, depending on the book’s publication history and the rights currently available, Kensington would be interested in bringing [book title removed] back to market and introducing it to a new readership. This would be a traditional publishing arrangement, in which Kensington covers all publication costs and there is no fee to you. Second, if you are working on something new or have a forthcoming project, I would be glad to hear about it, particularly if it continues the [book title removed] series or explores another story.

If you are interested, please reply here and let me know. If you are represented by a literary agent, I am equally happy to continue the conversation through your agent.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

John Scognamiglio
Editor-in-Chief
Kensington Publishing

A –

It’s a scam. The flattering words were written by AI.

The real Kensington Books uses this domain:
kensingtonbooks.com

The email was sent from this domain:
kensingstonbooks.com

Notice the extra “s” after the “g.”

Here’s the thing. The spoofed domain isn’t even a working website:
kensingstonbooks.com

The website was registered just five weeks ago. The real Kensington Books has been in business since 1974.

We call that an amateur scammer.

While the introductory email said they weren’t going to charge you anything, they were going to later refer you to (fake) “industry professionals” to make your book “better,” and they WERE going to charge you for that. And, those weren’t going to be different companies/individuals. The scammers were going to pretend they were, but they all work together. In many caeses, all of the “industry professionals” are actually the same guy sitting at a computer in another country (Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria, etc.). Again, it was NOT going to be free.

Sometimes, it’s just a scammer trying to obtain your personal details (you know, because they “need it for the contract”). Those folks are after authors’ social security numbers and bank account information.

The foreign scammers are spoofing real publishers’ websites left and right, and often insert or delete one letter to make it look real, which is exactly what this one did.

The real Kensington Books has a warning about all of this on their website:
https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/fraud-alert

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