Can you even imagine? An ad on Craigslist is seeking people to make extra money by faking authors’ signatures.

The advert says it is looking for 14 people who can do a blitz of false autograph signing on behalf of two unnamed co-authors of a newly released, and equally anonymous, book.

“You will need to be able to copy the look and style of both author’s signatures,” it says.

In return, the successful applicants will be paid $25 (£13) for 200 books signed.

The New York-based blog Gawker, which spotted the advert, has been unable to ascertain the identity of the publisher, or the authors involved. But they are clearly major players, judging by the scale of the operation.

The advert says the fake signing, to be held in Los Angeles, will run over two days at eight hours a day.

This just can’t be true. I mean, most authors can’t make money from their signature. How cruel would the universe have to be to let you know that even when no one lined up to get you to sign your own book, that somewhere in America some schmuck is making bucks faking the signature of someone else? Well, that’s it for me, folks. I’ll be handing out free samples of the new Jonestown-flavoured Crystal Light in the lobby after the show.