diff --git a/bin/.ignore-emails b/bin/.ignore-emails
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..32a9f47b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/.ignore-emails
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Email addresses to ignore in the git log when making the authors.md file
+<nick@raig-wood.com>
+<anaghk.dos@gmail.com>
diff --git a/bin/update-authors.py b/bin/update-authors.py
index 0bf75c20e..effedb091 100755
--- a/bin/update-authors.py
+++ b/bin/update-authors.py
@@ -7,17 +7,15 @@ import re
 import subprocess
 
 AUTHORS = "docs/content/authors.md"
-IGNORE = [ "nick@raig-wood.com" ]
+IGNORE = "bin/.ignore-emails"
 
-def load():
+def load(filename):
     """
-    returns a set of emails already in authors.md
+    returns a set of emails already in the file
     """
-    with open(AUTHORS) as fd:
+    with open(filename) as fd:
         authors = fd.read()
-    emails = set(re.findall(r"<(.*?)>", authors))
-    emails.update(IGNORE)
-    return emails
+    return set(re.findall(r"<(.*?)>", authors))
 
 def add_email(name, email):
     """
@@ -32,7 +30,9 @@ def main():
     out = subprocess.check_output(["git", "log", '--reverse', '--format=%an|%ae', "master"])
     out = out.decode("utf-8")
 
-    previous = load()
+    ignored = load(IGNORE)
+    previous = load(AUTHORS)
+    previous.update(ignored)
     for line in out.split("\n"):
         line = line.strip()
         if line == "":
diff --git a/docs/content/authors.md b/docs/content/authors.md
index ad17ddd0b..0f7e09f25 100644
--- a/docs/content/authors.md
+++ b/docs/content/authors.md
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ Authors
 Contributors
 ------------
 
+<!--- NB email addresses removed from here need to be addeed to
+bin/.ignore-emails to make sure update-authors.py doesn't immediately
+put them back in again. -->
+
   * Alex Couper <amcouper@gmail.com>
   * Leonid Shalupov <leonid@shalupov.com> <shalupov@diverse.org.ru>
   * Shimon Doodkin <helpmepro1@gmail.com>
@@ -192,7 +196,7 @@ Contributors
   * Sheldon Rupp <me@shel.io>
   * albertony <12441419+albertony@users.noreply.github.com>
   * cron410 <cron410@gmail.com>
-  * Anagh Kumar Baranwal <anaghk.dos@gmail.com> <6824881+darthShadow@users.noreply.github.com>
+  * Anagh Kumar Baranwal <6824881+darthShadow@users.noreply.github.com>
   * Felix Brucker <felix@felixbrucker.com>
   * Santiago Rodríguez <scollazo@users.noreply.github.com>
   * Craig Miskell <craig.miskell@fluxfederation.com>