Canadian Publisher Drops Novelist After AI Traces Emerge in His Book

Canadian Publisher Drops Novelist After AI Traces Emerge in His Book

Canadian publishing house Les Éditions du Boréal has ended its professional relationship with Haitian Canadian novelist Thélyson Orélien after an investigation reportedly uncovered traces of artificial intelligence in documents linked to his controversial book.

The decision marks a reversal for the publisher, which had previously stood by the 38-year-old writer despite allegations that AI was used in producing his novel, C’était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That or Die).

In a statement on Wednesday, Boréal said new information indicated that artificial intelligence had been used during the writing process, prompting it to terminate its relationship with the novelist.

The publisher said it gathered different versions of the manuscript and engaged an independent party to examine the documents. The analysis reportedly revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of some files.

However, Boréal acknowledged that it could not establish the extent of AI’s involvement in the novel, adding that a definitive answer might never be available.

The company also said its attempts to work with Orélien to obtain information that could clarify the allegations proved inconclusive. According to the publisher, the author subsequently declined to provide further details.

Orélien has repeatedly denied allowing artificial intelligence to write his novel. Earlier this month, he described the allegations as “slander and heresy” in a statement to Agence France-Presse.

Although he acknowledged using digital tools for research, particularly to understand foreign idioms, the novelist insisted that no machine generated the book’s sentences, meaning or narrative structure.

Speaking to French newspaper Libération on Wednesday, however, Orélien acknowledged using AI during the creative process for historical research. He also expressed frustration over the controversy, saying his explanations appeared to carry little weight.

The novelist maintained that he began writing the book in late 2017 and completed an initial draft of more than 300 pages in 2019, several years before AI services such as ChatGPT became widely available.

The controversy had already resulted in the novel’s withdrawal from consideration for France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt, one of the country’s most important literary awards.

Suspicion surrounding the book intensified after the AI-detection tool Pangram reportedly assessed it as having a 100 per cent probability of containing computer-generated text. However, such a detection result does not independently establish who wrote the disputed passages.

Before the allegations emerged, the migration-themed novel had attracted significant international interest, with translations planned in more than 20 countries.

The publisher’s decision has raised fresh questions about the book’s international prospects and the circumstances surrounding its creation.

Separately, Orélien has acknowledged making what he described as “unacceptable mistakes” in his earlier writing following plagiarism allegations, although he did not identify the specific works involved.

Reflecting on his early career, the novelist said he had been young and impatient, with much still to learn about writing. He acknowledged that admiring another writer did not justify claiming someone else’s work as his own.