Sunday Scam Alert

(They just don't quit)

Over the many years of my career, I’ve gotten legitimate queries from anthology editors and acquisition editors. They knew my work and either offered me a place in an anthology or wondered if I had a book that might fit their current line. One example: my collection of essays Writing a Jewish Life was born from a query at Carroll and Graf.

Lately, though, the publishing world is flooded with scam queries, preying on writers who don’t or should know better. I’ve gotten lots from so-called publicists, but today there was a new twist. This one below just popped into my Inbox today and there were immediate red flags:

—The “writer” is way too informal only using a first name given that we’ve never met.

—There’s no phone number at the bottom of the email and no website link.

—The query is too broad: they are interested in me for genre and literary fiction.

—That third sentence doesn’t really make sense because literary fiction is not genre fiction.

—One more note: I’ve known about this prestige publisher for years and have never heard that they were publishing crime fiction.

«From: Ethan Nosowsky <ethannosowsky.graywolf@aol.com>
Date: Sun, May 3, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Subject: Interest in Your Novel *The Death of a Constant Lover*
To: raphael1836@gmail.com <raphael1836@gmail.com>

Hello Lev,

I hope you’re having a great week.

My name is Ethan, and I’m Editorial Director at Graywolf Press. With over a decade of experience in publishing, I acquire across a range of genre fiction, including crime, mystery, and literary fiction.

I recently came across your work, particularly The Death of a Constant Lover, and was struck by its sharp wit and sophisticated storytelling. The blend of academic satire with a compelling murder investigation creates a distinctive and engaging narrative, and Nick Hoffman’s voice, wry, perceptive, and literate, feels especially memorable.

I’d love to learn more about your current and forthcoming projects, as well as whether you are represented by a literary agent. If you do have representation, I’d be very happy to continue any conversation via your agent. If not, I’d be glad to outline how the process works at Graywolf Press should there be mutual interest.

Subject to reviewing further material, I believe there could be scope for a broader discussion regarding a potential fit within our crime and literary fiction publishing programme.

If this sounds of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Warm regards,
Ethan
Editorial Director
Graywolf Press»

One thing I missed was the wonky email: there should have been a company domain name rather than a personal email address. Graywolf mail ends with this: @graywolfpress.org. So be warned.

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

P.S. I checked online and this scam is at least a year old.