A predatory publisher is one that charges publication fees to authors without checking the quality or legitimacy of their work, and without performing the editorial or publication services provided by legitimate academic publishers.
Similarly, a predatory conference or meeting is one that is set up to appear legitimate, but whose primary motivation is to make money for the organizer, not to advance academic discussion.
New scholars are particularly at risk from predatory publishers due to their inexperience with the world of scholarly publishing, and because predatory publishers often seek them out due to that inexperience.
Predatory publishing is a waste of a scholar's valuable time, money, and effort. Being associated with one can do lasting damage to a scholar's reputation.
Video created by University of Manitoba's Libraries.