Goncourt Longlist Drops Thélyson Orélien Novel After AI Claims, Publisher Cuts Ties
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Nov 14
Goncourt Longlist Drops Thélyson Orélien Novel After AI Claims, Publisher Cuts Ties
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 14
Summary
Last month, France’s Goncourt Academy removed Canadian-Haitian author Thélyson Orélien’s novel from its longlist after social media users flagged it with AI-detection software.
Orélien denied using AI to write the book, but his publisher Boréal dropped him in late October after its own investigation; he also admitted plagiarism in some earlier writing.
The case is part of a wider publishing backlash that has already hit a $2 million debut deal, a Commonwealth prize winner and Hachette’s withdrawal of the novel Shy Girl.
Around 20% of recently self-published books may contain at least 25% AI-generated text, one study estimates, while publishers still lack clear rules on disclosure, detection and when to pull books.