Canadian publisher drops Thélyson Orélien after AI evidence found in novel

The Canadian publisher Les Éditions du Boréal has ended its collaboration with Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien after finding evidence that artificial intelligence was used to write his novel "C'était ça ou mourir." The publisher announced on Wednesday that new elements confirmed AI was used in the writing process, despite the author previously assuring them he had never used it for the creation of his novel.

The controversy began at the end of September when the X account "Balance ton Claude" accused the novel of massive AI use. The Goncourt Academy had already removed the book from its first selection on September 25, citing plagiarism and analyses suggesting the work was largely produced by AI.

“This novel, I wrote it myself.”

The publisher stated it commissioned an external analysis of all working versions of the novel. The results revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents. The publisher said it still does not know to what extent AI was used and may never have a definitive answer.

Orélien, who is 38 years old, had previously claimed the novel was the fruit of his own work and that he wrote it himself. He had also faced past accusations of plagiarism and admitted to some "youthful errors."

Despite the scandal, the novel has sold approximately 75,000 copies since the end of August. The publisher plans to stop reprints of the book and end all collaboration with the author, even though a contract for a second novel had been agreed upon.