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The French Goncourt Award nomination was withdrawn: AI suspected in the novel
Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien's novel C’était ça ou mourir sold 35,000 copies and was nominated for the Goncourt Prize, but it was withdrawn after an X user used the Pangram AI detector to show that it was entirely machine‑made. The allegation is important for literary authenticity and the development of AI detection.
The Goncourt Academy is a prestigious French literary society composed of writers, which also considered the novel as a candidate. The nomination was withdrawn after a user uploaded the work to the Pangram artificial intelligence detector program and published the result on X.
The novel sold 35,000 copies, and according to the publisher Boréal, no AI was used after receiving the manuscript. However, the publisher cannot confirm or refute the allegations and has suspended the tour.
According to Euronews, the X user Balance ton Claude is urging followers to moderate themselves against the author. In the opinion of the publisher and the French literary community, the novel’s creolized style – Haitian Creole, Spanish, Portuguese and colloquial speech – may have been a flaw in the AI detection program.
In his statement, author Thélyson Orélien claims that the repetitions similar to AI cited by critics actually come from Caribbean literary tradition. In his report to Libération he writes himself as angry and not sad while preparing documentation to refute the use of the machine.
Source: https://hvg.hu/elet/20260925_mi-segitsegevel-irhattak-az-idei-irodalmi-szezon-sikerkonyvet