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Filippo Bernardini, a "mysterious fraudster who impersonated publishers and agents to steal book manuscripts in an international phishing scam," was arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, the Guardian reported.
The FBI alleged that 29-year-old Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked as a rights coordinator at Simon & Schuster UK, had "impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals" to obtain unpublished and draft works. He was charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a New York district court, with the indictment saying Bernardini had registered more than 160 fake Internet domains to impersonate others since 2016.
The arrest "may mark the start of the end of a mystery that has fascinated and appalled the literary world for five years, during which hundreds of unpublished manuscripts have been targeted," the Guardian wrote. "Some authors, agents, editors, scouts and even judges for the Booker prize have been victims of phishing scams involving manuscripts of highly anticipated novels by Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney and actor Ethan Hawke.... None of the books ever turned up online, and everything from celebrity releases to debut novels by unknown writers were targeted. Some had suspected the individual was a literary scout, attempting to secure information to make film and television deals ahead of others."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Simon & Schuster said the publisher was "shocked and horrified" by the allegations against Bernardini and that they had suspended him pending further information, adding: "The safekeeping of our authors' intellectual property is of primary importance to Simon & Schuster, and for all in the publishing industry, and we are grateful to the FBI for investigating these incidents and bringing charges against the alleged perpetrator."
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The Booksellers Association of the U.K. & Ireland announced a number of changes to the team for 2022, including Naomi Gane stepping down from her role as conference & events manager. She will be succeeded by Rowan Mansell, who told the Bookseller: "I have been working in events for the last four and a half years, co-ordinating and leading leadership/governor events for schools in Hertfordshire. Providing key training, conferences and networking opportunities to support schools in keeping up to date with educational trends as well as societal trends/advances. I am really looking forward to begin a new journey with BA and become a part of the team to continue the incredible event management that takes place!"
Membership manager Pippa Halpin will be going on maternity leave from mid-February, with her role to be covered by Kate Gunning, formerly of Penguin Random House, Foyles and Waterstones. Laura McCormack, head of policy and public affairs, will also be going on maternity leave in March, with the BA currently seeking her maternity cover.
In other news, Sheila O'Reilly, former owner of Dulwich Books and bookseller mentor, will head the upcoming BA Learning project, a professional development platform for booksellers due to launch later in the year.
"We have a number of exciting projects lined up in 2022 to showcase booksellers and their incredible work, and we are pleased to be reframing the BA team to support these initiatives," said BA managing director Meryl Halls. "Naomi will be greatly missed by everyone at the BA and throughout the trade, but we are delighted to have Rowan join the team. We also look forward to welcoming Kate as cover while Pippa is on maternity leave, and are lucky to have Sheila bring all the necessary experience and skills to develop BA Learning as she heads that project as a freelance consultant."
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The Book Warehouse store in Lismore, NSW, Australia, shared a photo of its latest sidewalk chalkboard message, noting: "I think the choice is obvious... we're here for you." --Robert Gray