Quebec publisher cuts ties with author after AI evidence found in novel

Explainer

Montreal publisher Éditions du Boréal announced Wednesday it is ending its professional relationship with author Thélyson Orélien after finding evidence artificial intelligence was used to write his debut novel.

The publisher said an external analysis of some documents' metadata indicated AI was used while writing the book, "C’était ça ou mourir."

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"Consequently, Boréal will not reprint the novel, nor will it publish any further books by Thélyson Orélien," the publisher said in a press release.

Orélien did not respond to The Canadian Press' request for comment.

What evidence did the publisher find?

The publisher commissioned an external analysis of all working versions of the novel after Orélien ended a joint effort to compile a record proving the AI claims were baseless.

"The results, received this week, revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents," the publisher wrote.

It said it decided to lead its own investigation because the extraordinary situation made it clear it could not simply leave matters as they were.

"We still do not know to what extent AI was used in the creation of 'C’était ça ou mourir,' and we will likely never have a definitive answer," it wrote.

What has the author said?

Orélien has repeatedly denied using AI to write the book, saying he started working on it in 2017 and finished the first draft in 2019.

In an Oct. 13 press release, he said the accusations were "slander and heresy" and that while he did use AI tools "here and there" for research, the text, structure and plot all come "straight from my gut."

"What I am going through is cruel," he wrote. "By attributing a text, one that is mine ... to a machine, they have not only called into question my status as a writer but also my humanity."

Separately, he admitted plagiarism in some of his early work after media reported resemblances, or in some cases near-identical paragraphs, between some of his texts and other books or news reports.

The author apologized for what he described as unacceptable mistakes of his youth, while maintaining that no sentence in his novel was generated by a machine.

Nosy Mag reported in October that the author chose to end the process of proving the novel was not written by AI, leaving questions unresolved.

How did the controversy begin?

Allegations of AI use in the book emerged on social media in September.

An account using the name "Balance ton Claude" alleged that, according to the Pangram software, excerpts of Orélien’s novel had been written "almost entirely by artificial intelligence."

The novel explores a Haitian refugee’s journey to Quebec, based on Orélien’s own experience leaving Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Before the controversy, the novel won the Prix du Roman Fnac and earned nominations for several major French literary awards.

Since the allegations emerged, it has been removed from the running for France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt.

The book was set for a new printing this week.

How have others reacted?

Pierre-Yves Villeneuve, president of the Quebec writers’ union, praised the publisher’s decision.

"We’ve just declared clearly that this type of work doesn’t have its place on our shelves," he said in an interview.

He denounced how the publisher’s previously ambiguous information put the burden on readers to decide whether to buy the book.

"It’s a situation that was completely unfair, because the reader didn’t have any information to know whether this book was really written by Thélyson (Orélien)," said Villeneuve.

He called on Boréal to release more details on the evidence they found. "They had promised us a detailed record, and they did not deliver," said Villeneuve.

Floriane Claveau, spokesperson for the major Quebec bookstore chain Renaud-Bray, said Boréal’s decision would not make a big difference for the bookstores until his book runs out.

"If a book is available and there is demand, we simply keep it available. We don’t position ourselves as judges or censors of content," she said.

She said the book sold out in several Renaud-Bray libraries.

The publisher said it chose the book because it moved them deeply, long before its success in bookstores and awards.

"We understand the disappointment felt by some, and we share it," it wrote.

It urged people to exercise restraint to bring an end to the personal attacks against Orélien.

With files from The Canadian Press, Global News and CBC News