IMPORTANT FRAUD ALERT

The Louisville Book Festival has been made aware of individuals falsely representing themselves as affiliated with our organization and contacting authors and members of the public to request payment to participate in the festival.

These communications are fraudulent. Please do not send money or provide personal or financial information without verifying that you are communicating directly with the Louisville Book Festival.

We Will NEVER Ask for Your Bank Account Information

The Louisville Book Festival will never ask you to provide your bank account information—for any reason. Ever.

We do not need your bank account or banking credentials to register you for the festival, reserve a table, participate in programming, submit a book, or complete any other festival-related transaction.

If someone claiming to represent the Louisville Book Festival asks for your bank account information, bank login information, routing information, or other banking credentials, STOP communicating with them. It is a scam.

Scammers Are Using Real Names

We have received multiple reports of fraudulent communications using the name of former Festival Director Melissa Gaddie. Please be advised that Melissa Gaddie is no longer on the Louisville Book Festival staff and is not contacting authors or collecting payments on our behalf. Any message claiming to be from Melissa Gaddie representing the Louisville Book Festival should be treated as fraudulent.

Melissa herself is not involved in this scam in any way and is a friend of the festival. Her name is being used without authorization. One immediate indication that the communication is fraudulent is that Melissa is no longer listed as a member of our staff on our official website.

We have also received reports that scammers are now using the name of Louisville Book Festival Founder Deedee Cummings. Even using the name of our Founder, a current staff member, does not mean the communication is legitimate.

Before You Send Money, Verify With Us

Please check the official Louisville Book Festival website to confirm that the person contacting you is currently affiliated with the festival. More importantly, pay close attention to the actual email address being used, not simply the name displayed on the message. These fraudulent communications are not coming from official Louisville Book Festival accounts.

If you receive a request for payment and have any doubt whatsoever, contact the Louisville Book Festival directly at admin@louisvillebookfestival.com before sending money or providing information.

Do not reply to a suspicious message to ask whether it is legitimate. Instead, start a new email and contact us directly through our official festival email address.

Please Remember

We will never ask for your bank account information.

Do not trust a communication simply because it uses the name of someone associated—or formerly associated—with the Louisville Book Festival.

Verify the email address. Check our official website. And when in doubt, contact us directly at admin@louisvillebookfestival.com before paying anything.

We are deeply concerned that members of our literary community are being targeted in this way, and we want everyone who interacts with the Louisville Book Festival to feel confident that they are communicating with us.