Publisher Drops Haitian-Canadian Author Over AI Use
“Here and there I did use tools for research, particularly for foreign idioms,” author Thélyson Orélien stated in a statement sent exclusively to Agence France-Presse, defending his writing process against mounting scrutiny.
Les Éditions du Boréal announced Wednesday it is ending its professional relationship with Thélyson Orélien after an independent analysis confirmed the use of artificial intelligence in his novel, C’était ça ou mourir. The Montreal publishing house stated it will no longer reprint the novel or publish any future works by the 38-year-old author. The decision marks a sharp reversal from the previous week, when the Canadian publisher publicly stood by the writer despite mounting online allegations. Boréal communicated its decision to Orélien before making it public.
External Investigation Reveals Metadata Tags
The analysis of the document metadata revealed distinct traces of AI tags. While the publisher stated it does not know the exact extent of artificial intelligence used in the writing process and may never have a definitive answer, the findings refuted Orélien’s prior assertions.
The controversy erupted on Sept. 21 when an anonymous account on X ran book excerpts through an AI detection tool, which indicated a 100 percent probability of computer-generated text, according to reports. France’s Prix Goncourt subsequently removed the book from its shortlist. The novel tells the story of a Haitian migrant moving to Canada, drawing heavily from Orélien’s own life after he fled his native country following the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Author Denies Sentence Generation While Admitting Past Plagiarism
Orélien has steadfastly denied that generative tools wrote the actual text of his book. Speaking to the French newspaper Libération, he maintained that he employed artificial intelligence solely for historical research during the creative process. He asserted that he began writing the manuscript in late 2017 and completed a draft exceeding 300 pages in 2019, years before modern generative services such as ChatGPT gained widespread public use. When the allegations first surfaced in September, Orélien said he suspected racism was behind the attacks on him, and he stated that what he is now experiencing has gone way too far. He added that he explained everything to those close to him, but at the moment he does not think his words count for anything.
Alongside the artificial intelligence controversy, the author addressed separate allegations of plagiarism from his past, admitting to making unacceptable mistakes when he was just over 20 years old. He wrote that he was too impatient at the time and failed to realize how much he still needed to learn about writing. Boréal acknowledged the human element behind the crisis, urging the public to exercise restraint and bring an end to the personal attacks directed at the writer.