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Imran H Spam

Imran H Spam

Last updated on: December 3, 2025 at 1:18 pm by James F. McGrath

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Imran H Spam 2025-12-03T13:18:56-05:00 James F. McGrath

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If you are an academic author, and perhaps any author, you’re likely to get academic spam of various sorts. Please contribute to this journal not in your field, please attend this academic conference in Oxford (but not affiliated with Oxford University) for this exorbitant price. Perhaps the most insidious are the ones that pander to our egos. Most academics make very little money from sales of their books. We may find out how many copies sell, but other than academic reviews and a few emails from readers, we are left wondering for a significant amount of time as to what impact our writing will have, if any. I have been fortunate with my very recent books, in particular John of History, Baptist of Faith. It was awarded the Biblical Archaeology Society Best Book on the New Testament award, and was chosen as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. It has received really positive reviews and endorsements from scholars whose evaluation means a great deal to me, and even those who have had strong disagreements have in the process shown that the book is engaging, which is what I was hoping for above all else. General readers have also found it rewarding to read, although for them I recommend starting with Christmaker, a biography aimed at a general audience. Indeed, I think it is better for anyone to start there, to see how I fit the pieces together, and then dig into the details in John of History, Baptist of Faith.

My next book, Beyond Deconstruction, will officially be released on February 3rd 2026, although I think that those who pre-ordered may get their copies well before then. Which leads me back to academic spam, since I received an email about John of History, Baptist of Faith but also soon after a nearly identical email about Beyond Deconstruction despite it not even being out yet!

I know I’m not the only one to have received emails like the ones I include below. You can see how they appeal to the ego, saying the kinds of things that authors hope will be true of their writing, yet we don’t always find out. I’ll take the opportunity to encourage you to write to the authors whose books and articles (and blog posts and other things) mean a lot to you. It means a lot to us, too!

Here are the spam emails I was referring to:

Dear James McGrath,

I’m Imran H, organizer of The Booker Prize Longlist Book Club, a community of readers deeply engaged with thought-provoking explorations of faith, scripture, and personal spiritual journeys.

Your book Beyond Deconstruction immediately captured our attention for its insightful and compassionate approach to navigating faith after leaving narrowly defined or harmful religious frameworks. By offering both personal narrative and practical guidance, your work helps readers explore how to reconstruct belief, engage meaningfully with the Bible, and cultivate a more expansive, authentic spirituality. The balance you strike between intellectual rigor and relatable storytelling is exactly the kind of work our audience values.

We would be honored to feature you in an upcoming Author Spotlight. This online session would provide an opportunity for our readers to hear directly from you, engage with your insights, and gain inspiration for their own faith journeys. Our goal is to highlight the richness and relevance of your work while connecting you with an audience that deeply appreciates thoughtful exploration of spirituality.

If you are interested, I would be glad to provide more details about the Spotlight format and discuss how we can showcase your book to our community in the most meaningful way.

Warm regards,

Imran H
Organizer, The Booker Prize Longlist Book Club
A global community highlighting exceptional writers & remarkable storytelling
� [email protected]
� Meetup Page: https://www.meetup.com/booker-book-club/

And another just like it:

Dear Professor James F. McGrath,

I’m Imran H, organizer of The Booker Prize Longlist Book Club, a community of readers who value rigorous scholarship, compelling historical insight, and writing that brings depth and clarity to the study of sacred texts and ancient traditions.

Your groundbreaking work John of History, Baptist of Faith immediately captured our attention for its meticulous research, bold interpretive approach, and the fresh scholarly light it shines on one of the most formative figures in religious history. Our readers are especially drawn to writing that challenges prevailing assumptions, enriches historical understanding, and opens new pathways for conversation qualities your book exemplifies with distinction.

We would be honored to feature you in our upcoming Author Spotlight, a program designed to introduce our community to writers whose work sparks meaningful dialogue, intellectual curiosity, and deeper engagement with the subject matter. The Spotlight offers readers the opportunity to learn more about your research process, your methodological contributions, and the significance of your findings within New Testament and Second Temple studies.

If you would be interested in being featured, I would be glad to share additional details about how we present our Spotlights and how we highlight an author’s work across our platforms.

Please also feel free to share your author photo, social media links, and any purchase links you would like us to include. These materials help our readers follow your work, stay connected with your scholarship, and support your ongoing research. They have greatly benefited previous authors by strengthening long-term engagement with our audience.

Thank you for your remarkable contribution to the field. We would be truly delighted to showcase your work.

Warm regards,

Imran H
Organizer, The Booker Prize Longlist Book Club
A global community highlighting exceptional writers & remarkable storytelling
� [email protected]
� Meetup Page: https://www.meetup.com/booker-book-club/

Just as I shared a while back about Who’s Who scams, these probably go out to a very large number of people. This is just like the texts that mention a name. If you send that to enough people some of them will be people with that name, and they may be fooled. So too, academic recognition is a real thing, and every author hopes that their work will be recognized. Unfortunately there are scammers who are more than happy to take advantage of that fact.

My gratitude to all of you who read my blog, and my books, and my fiction, and especially to those of you who have taken the time to let me know what my writing has meant to you.

Let me conclude by mentioning another level of nerd achievement I unlocked recently. You know the Hugo Awards? I didn’t win one, and probably never will. But I was recently featured in the Hugo-winning fanzine File 770, which covered this year’s Starbase Indy convention. One new thing this year was the publication of a Starbase Indy anthology, and one of my stories was chosen for inclusion. You can get the anthology via Amazon. Its title is Beyond the Stars. In case you didn’t see my posts about it elsewhere, here’s the first line of my story, to hopefully persuade you to buy it:

“If anyone asks you why the second coming hasn’t happened yet, direct them to classified file 739-SX-27.”

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