We have become aware of multiple scam attempts wherein authors and vendors are being invited to participate in the Texas Book Festival for a fee. These communications are fraudulent and not affiliated with Texas Book Festival.

If you have been contacted by anyone requesting money to participate in the Festival or who you believe to be engaging in fraudulent behavior, please do not engage, click on links, or submit any form of payment. Let us know by emailing [email protected].

Texas Book Festival, among many other literary organizations across the country, has fallen victim to a malicious fraud campaign targeting authors, vendors, and publishers, among others.

Scammers are using what appear to be AI-generated emails to defraud hopeful authors and Festival participants out of money by using deceitful language, inviting them to participate for a fee.

Texas Book Festival does not charge featured authors to participate in the official Festival program. Vendor applications are always submitted directly through the official texasbookfestival.org website. Vendor payment is always requested from TBF staffers using an official @texasbookfestival.org email address and invoiced through the secure Stripe platform. Payment will never be requested via alternative platforms, such as Zelle, Cash App, PayPal, wire transfer, gift cards, or other unofficial payment methods.

In some instances, scammers have used the Texas Book Festival logo and/or names of TBF team members to create fraudulent inquiries. Communications from official Texas Book Festival staff will always end in @texasbookfestival.org. Any email addresses not ending with this domain are unofficial and not affiliated with Texas Book Festival.

For example:

While exhibitors, including publishing houses, are allowed to feature their authors at their assigned space throughout the Festival weekend, it is against Texas Book Festival’s exhibitor policy to resell or sublet any space allotted to an exhibitor, including to authors who are asked to pay to be featured at their booth.

If you have been contacted by anyone requesting money to participate in the Festival or who you believe to be engaging in fraudulent behavior, please do not engage, click on links, or submit any form of payment. Let us know by emailing [email protected].

Thank you,
The Texas Book Festival Team