The Académie Goncourt, organisers of France’s prestigious Goncourt literary prize, has removed a novel by Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien from its longlist following allegations that the work was largely produced using artificial intelligence.
The academy announced on Friday that it had withdrawn Orélien’s novel, C’était ça ou mourir (It Was That or Die), saying the decision was made to protect the integrity of the prize and the organisation.
The book tells the story of a history and geography teacher who escapes gang violence in Haiti and undertakes a dangerous journey through 12 countries before eventually settling in Canada.
It was published in France by Grasset in August, the novel has reportedly sold about 35,000 copies. It also won the Prix du roman Fnac, while its translation rights have been acquired in more than 20 countries.
The AI allegations emerged on X on September 21, the same day the novel received the Fnac prize. An anonymous account known as Balance ton Claude claimed that it had analysed the book using the AI detection tool Pangram and found it to be “almost entirely” generated by artificial intelligence.
However, questions have since been raised about the reliability of Pangram and other AI detection systems. French media outlets reportedly found that some other detection programmes concluded that the novel was very likely written by a human.
Orélien, 38, has rejected the allegations and said he believed they were motivated by racism.
“I’ve always loved creating and writing,” he said. “I don’t see why I would use a machine.”
The author also told Libération that his writing reflects Haitian and Caribbean language traditions.
“The imagery, repetition and rhythm are a living language, they are mine,” he said.
The person behind the anonymous X account was later identified by Le Figaro as Samuel Fitoussi, one of the newspaper’s columnists and the author of an essay critical of “wokeism” in film and television.
Fitoussi said he launched the campaign because, despite being “techno-optimistic”, he was concerned that “AI will cause the disappearance of reading and writing”.
Plagiarism Claims Emerge
The controversy took another turn after French media reported separate allegations of plagiarism involving Orélien and his novel.
Libération alleged that part of the book had been taken from an award-winning short story featured in the preface of French journalist Louis Pauwels’ 1960 book, The Morning of the Magicians.
The Académie Goncourt had initially urged caution over the AI allegations, with its president, Philippe Claudel, calling for restraint on Wednesday. However, the academy later cited both the plagiarism allegations and findings from several researchers and journalists in announcing the book’s removal.
In its statement, the academy referred to the “plagiarisms of which its author has been guilty over time and which have just been revealed, as well as the convergent result of several analyses by trustworthy researchers and journalists highlighting the fact that [the book] is in all likelihood very largely the product of artificial intelligence”.
“The aim is to send a clear message,” it added, “to affirm that we neither endorse nor condone in any way the creation of texts generated with the help of AI.”
The novel’s original publisher, Éditions du Boréal, said it could not currently confirm or reject the allegations against the author.
The Canada-based publisher urged caution, saying, “Without credible, concrete evidence, it is not our place to decide whether this book has a right to exist.”
It also said it was concerned by the plagiarism allegations but stressed that a real person was behind the book.
“We unequivocally condemn the hateful messages and personal attacks of recent days, and we urge everyone to show restraint,” the publisher said.
Orélien has declined to comment further on the latest allegations. Speaking at the Les Correspondances literary festival in Manosque, southern France, on Thursday, he said the controversy was an attempt to silence him.
“There’s this desire not only to attack the book, but especially my voice … to silence me,” he said, adding that he would “take a step back and wait until things have calmed down”.
The Académie Goncourt is expected to release its shortlist on October 6, while the winner of the prize will be announced on November 4.
