Thélyson Orélien’s Canadian publisher confirmed on Thursday, October 22, that the author did use artificial intelligence to write his novel, “C’était ça ou mourir”. After finding itself on prestigious prize lists, the book will no longer be printed, while the author continues to contest the claims.
After several weeks of turmoil, Thélyson Orélien is now dropped by his publisher, Les Éditions du Boréal. The novel will no longer be printed. The shock was relayed by the president of the Académie Goncourt, Philippe Claudel, who had excluded this book from his 2026 selection. ‘One can only react with sadness, I think. Of course, the literary world has been shaken, turned upside down by what has been happening for about two weeks now, the revelations concerning Thélyson Orélien’s novel.’
The author was suspected of having written his book with the help of an artificial intelligence. Les Éditions du Boréal therefore requested a new expert analysis, the results of which, according to the publisher, indicate that the author did indeed resort to AI. ‘The results obtained this week revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents, ‘ it explained. Metadata is the technical information that accompanies a file. For his part, Thélyson Orélien continues to contest this and maintains he only used artificial intelligence for research.
Divided readers
In a bookstore, the question puzzles customers. One reader believes that ‘it’s not just the fact of being helped by AI that should, in my opinion, change my reading. If it’s used, it should be specified, so the reader is aware of the use of this tool.’ Her remark sums up a debate that extends beyond this single novel: that of authors’ transparency about the tools they use.
Sales holding steady
The controversy has had no impact in bookstores, where the book continues to attract the curious. It is currently among the best-selling books in France.
