March 4, 2026
Pen pals vs. prompt pals
Indefinite Book Club Hiatus
Book clubs vs bot clubs: readers split as author blames AI spam
TLDR: A bestselling author says he’s ignoring book club invites because AI spam turned his inbox into a scam minefield. The comments are split between snail‑mail proof‑of‑humanity, calling his stance an excuse, and nostalgia for human‑vouched communities — a fight over how to keep real people talking and bots out.
Book lovers showed up for tea; instead they got a flame war. Sci‑fi mainstay John Scalzi is putting book club invites on ice, saying his inbox is flooded with AI spam posing as clubs and conferences. His mic‑drop — “die in a ****ing fire” to scammers — split readers. Bottom line: sort bots all day, or write books.
Commenters lit up. Practical types like al_borland pitched a low‑tech fix: send a hand‑written letter, stamp and all, even if pen‑wielding robots exist thanks to Stuff Made Here. Skeptics like dubeye called it an excuse, insisting real invites are easy to spot. Ciantic pushed human‑vouched hubs like Lobste.rs to keep bots out.
Others kept it spicy and silly: Freak_NL applauded the unfiltered rant and hyped an upcoming “cheese moon” caper; butILoveLife asked “why care about one dude?” and boasted their book clubs are blissfully bot‑free. The thread devolved into a choose‑your‑fighter meme: snail mail, stronger gatekeepers, or just touch grass and stop emailing authors.
Key Points
- •JS is pausing all participation in book club invitations indefinitely.
- •He reports receiving dozens of AI-generated spam emails daily, making it hard to identify genuine requests.
- •He warns responding to spam can place a person on lists shared among scammers, increasing future spam.
- •Similar AI-generated spam affects convention, book festival, and paid speaking invitations.
- •JS has publicists and a speaking bureau to filter invitations; many writers lack this support, increasing stress and hindering marketing.