Catherine Porter, Ségolène Le Stradic, and Tiffany Hsu report on Thélyson Orélien and his award-winning book C’était ça ou mourir [It Was Either That or Die] for The New York Times. [Also see our previous post, 2026 FNAC novel prize for “C’était ça ou mourir.”] As The Guardian’s Philip Oltermann states, the Académie Goncourt withdrew Orélien’s novel, explaining that it was “driven by the desire to preserve the integrity of the Goncourt prize and the academy itself, whose central role is to promote and honour literature [. . .].” Here are excerpts from The New York Times.
When the Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien arrived in France this month to promote his novel, it was in many ways his dream tour.
Rave reviews have followed his new book, “It Was Either That Or Die,” depicting a migrant’s harrowing journey out of Haiti and across a dozen countries to safety in Canada. So have television appearances and nods from prestigious literary prizes.
That was until this week, when A.I. detection programs in the hands of social media users assessed that the novel was likely written with the help of artificial intelligence, leading the novel to be pulled from consideration for a prestigious literary award.
Mr. Orélien denied using A.I., and his French publisher said he began writing the novel in 2017 and finished a draft in 2019, years before generative A.I. programs appeared commercially. But Mr. Orélien was still swept into intense debates that have gripped the global publishing industry and shocked France, where literature is so esteemed that writers are interred in the Panthéon, the mausoleum of national heroes in Paris.
Over just a few days, writers and editors filled TV and radio shows, arguing whether A.I. meant “the beginning of the end of literature.” Publishers grappled with the limits of detection tools, what A.I. use was acceptable, if any, and what they should disclose to readers.
And as critics sparred with defenders of Mr. Orélien, who is Black, over whether he was targeted because of his race and his book’s treatment of migrants, he was accused of plagiarism in earlier writings, inflaming the controversy.
On Friday the Goncourt Academy — the institution overseeing France’s highest literary award — decided to pull the novel from its shortlist, given the “consistent findings of analyses by credible researchers and journalists” suggesting the book was, “in all likelihood, largely the product of artificial intelligence.”
“The point is to send a clear message,” the Academy said on social media, “one that affirms that we neither endorse nor approve, in one way or another, the creation of texts generated by artificial intelligence.”
In a statement provided by his French publisher, Mr. Orélien said, “One can discuss my style, but to treat its techniques as evidence of artificial intelligence has nothing to do with literary criticism.” [. . .]
His French publishing house, Grasset, said in a statement on Tuesday that it “strongly objected” to the “malicious” accusations, and it reaffirmed its “absolute confidence” in the author.
But Les Éditions du Boréal, the prestigious Quebec publisher that first discovered the book, said on Thursday that “at this stage, it is impossible for us to confirm or deny the allegations the author is facing, and in these circumstances, it is crucial not to draw hasty conclusions.” [. . .]
The controversy also spurred scrutiny over Mr. Orélien’s other work.
On Tuesday, Radio Canada, a national public radio station, said that Mr. Orélien had plagiarized four opinion articles published in 2012 and 2013 on French and Canadian news sites. It also said that chunks of his award-winning 2012 short story, “Où va le monde,” resembled parts of a French book published in 1960, “Le Matin des Magiciens.”
Above one of the opinion columns, the Canadian newspaper La Presse has written, “Since this text was published, we have learned that its author committed plagiarism.” [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/world/europe/thelyson-orelien-ai-canada-haiti-france.html
Many thanks to Peter Jordens for sharing additional links. Also see, “Novelist accused of using AI to write book removed from French prize list
Philip Oltermann,” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/25/thelyson-orelien-goncourt-prize-france and “Dossier — Littérature et IA : ce que dit l’affaire Thélyson Orélien” https://www.nouvelobs.com/bibliobs/20260925.OBS118578/litterature-et-ia-ce-que-dit-l-affaire-thelyson-orelien.html
Catherine Porter, Ségolène Le Stradic, and Tiffany Hsu report on Thélyson Orélien and his award-winning book C’était ça ou mourir [It Was Either That or Die] for The New York Times. [Also see our previous post, 2026 FNAC novel prize for “C’était ça ou mourir.”] As The Guardian’s Philip Oltermann states, the Académie Goncourt withdrew
