<
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/17/authors-writers-caught-in-global-ai-publishing-scam>
"An aspiring Australian writer met an apparent scammer face-to-face before
realising she may have become a victim of a suspicious international publishing
venture.
Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre is now investigating the case of a
website luring people seeking a foothold in the increasingly crowded space of
vanity and self-publishing. The
Guardian has uncovered similar suspicious
websites operating in the UK and New Zealand, as well as two others operating
within Australia.
This apparent network of publishers – using cloned websites, AI-generated staff
and virtual offices across Australia, the UK and New Zealand – includes
websites trading by the names of Melbourne Book Publisher, First Page Press
(UK), Aussie Book Publisher, Oz Book Publishers and BookPublishers.co.nz.
The entity operating as Melbourne Book Publisher is confusing aspiring authors
who think they are dealing with the well-established publisher Melbourne Books
– which is not a vanity publisher – going so far as to use a near-identical
name and its Australian Business Number (ABN).
The company appears to be linked to a similar operation based in London, First
Page Press, with both pulling down parts of their websites after the
Guardian
contacted them with questions about the use of AI-generated content, including
staff profiles and testimonials.
First Page Press, which lists addresses in London and Melbourne, also lists
books on its site that were actually published by a US-based self-publishing
company, Atmosphere Press. Its CEO, Nick Courtright, told the
Guardian he
considered this “brazen theft” and has since issued a cease and desist notice
to First Page Press and reported the matter to Scamwatch."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
