[International] French Novel Accused of AI Authorship, Disqualified from Literary Award, Sales Soar Amid Controversy

Haitian-Canadian author Thelyson Orelien's novel released this year has been accused of being written by AI. France's prestigious Prix Goncourt has removed it from its longlist, yet the book's sales continue to soar amid the controversy. The novel, "C’etait ca ou mourir" (It was this or die, tentative translation), published in France by Grasset, depicts the arduous journey of an immigrant leaving Haiti for Quebec, Canada. Orelien received the Prix du roman Fnac on September 21st, shortly after which the social media account Balance ton Claude accused him, claiming that analysis by the detection software Pangram indicated the book was largely written by artificial intelligence (AI). Orelien, 38, denies the accusation. However, media reports have revealed that his previous writings published in Canada have also been accused of plagiarism. He told Agence France-Presse recently that he would issue a statement after the situation calms down. In the meantime, he has suspended his promotional tour in France and returned to Canada early. The novel was initially included in the longlist for the highly influential Prix Goncourt. The Academie Goncourt, which awards the prize, initially urged caution regarding the matter but ultimately removed the book from the list on September 25th. According to the latest data from "Livres Hebdo" and market research firm NielsenIQ BookData, the novel's physical sales in France continue to increase. Between September 21st and 27th, when the controversy erupted and began to spread, it sold 18,254 copies, up from 12,506 the previous week, ranking first on the fiction bestseller list and fourth overall. Franceinfo reported that "C’etait ca ou mourir" has sold approximately 65,000 copies since its release in France on August 19th, which is considered quite successful for a debut novel by a previously unknown foreign author. The case has sparked a heated discussion in the literary world about the state of literature. Belgian author Antoine Wauters recently posted on social media, stating his firm opposition to using software like Pangram to detect literary works. He does not approve of using AI to prove the human value of a text but acknowledges the need to redefine rules in response to new technologies. Laurent Dubois, director of the Quebec Association of Screenwriters and Audiovisual Writers (Sartec), expressed concern that reading literary works will be long accompanied by suspicion. "I don't want to live in a world where readers doubt (the author's) use of AI because a work is considered not good enough, or conversely, too good."