Scam Alert

Scam Alert: Emails Impersonating Literary Agent Nikki Terpilowski

The Gmail address terpilowskinikki@gmail.com does not belong to Nikki Terpilowski or Holloway Literary. It is a fraudulent account being used to impersonate her.

Do not reply, send a manuscript, click links, provide personal information, accept an editorial referral, or pay for any service offered through this address. Report the message as phishing, not merely as spam.

Is terpilowskinikki@gmail.com Nikki Terpilowski’s email address?

No. terpilowskinikki@gmail.com is not associated with Nikki Terpilowski or Holloway Literary.

Nikki does not use personal Gmail accounts to conduct agency business. Existing clients and professional colleagues should rely only on the established professional email address through which they already communicate with her.

Is Nikki Terpilowski accepting submissions?

No. Nikki Terpilowski is currently closed to submissions and is not seeking new clients.

She is not contacting writers to request manuscripts, offer representation, provide unsolicited editorial notes, or propose a revise and resubmit. Any such message from a Gmail account is fraudulent.

Official submission information appears only on the Holloway Literary website. Queries sent through any other email address or submission method are deleted, and the sending address is blocked.

How does the impersonation scam work?

The fraudulent messages may introduce the sender as “Nikki Terpilowski, founder of Holloway Literary” and include information copied from this website. Some contain extensive editorial notes intended to resemble a legitimate revise-and-resubmit request.

Detailed editorial feedback does not prove that a message came from a literary agent. Such feedback can be produced by uploading a manuscript to an AI tool. Writers should not send complete manuscripts to unverified accounts because their work could be copied, stored, analyzed, or used without their knowledge or permission.

The fraudulent sender may also offer to introduce the writer to an outside editor, potentially for a fee. Holloway Literary does not refer prospective clients to paid editors, receive referral fees or kickbacks, or require writers to purchase editorial services.

Legitimate literary agents work on commission. Any request for an upfront representation fee or required payment for editing, marketing, publishing, or another service is a scam.

What should I do if I received the fraudulent email?

• Do not reply.
• Do not send your manuscript or additional material.
• Do not click links or open attachments.
• Do not provide personal or financial information.
• Do not pay for any recommended service.
• Preserve the original email and its full header.
• Use your email provider’s Report phishing option.
• Report the account through your email platform, like the Google Gmail abuse form.
• If you sent money, personal information, or manuscript material, file a report with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Should I contact Holloway Literary to verify the message?

No. Holloway Literary is closed to submissions and cannot respond to verification requests from writers who are not current clients or professional colleagues.

If you received an unsolicited message from terpilowskinikki@gmail.com, or from another Gmail account claiming to be Nikki Terpilowski, treat it as fraudulent.