Rising author Thélyson Orélien removed from major literary race amid AI and plagiarism allegations
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The Haitian-Canadian author says his writing reflects Caribbean language traditions as literary institutions grapple with questions surrounding artificial intelligence.
Thélyson Orélien’s rapid rise in France’s literary scene was interrupted when the Académie Goncourt removed his novel, “It Was Either That Or Die,” from consideration amid allegations of the use of artificial intelligence and plagiarism.
The decision came just days after Orélien won the 2026 Prix du Roman Fnac, a major French literary award selected by 400 booksellers and 400 readers. The novel, published by Grasset in August, had also attracted international attention and was being considered for several major prizes.
The Guardian reported that the controversy began on X on Sept. 21, when an anonymous account claimed that passages from the novel were identified by the AI-detection service Pangram as AI-generated. The account went further, alleging that the book was almost entirely AI-written.
Those claims have not been independently established. In fact, testing has produced conflicting results. Le Monde reported that Pangram identified more than 95% of the book as AI-generated, while other detection systems reportedly assessed the same work as likely human-written. Experts have also cautioned that AI detectors can produce false positives.
Orélien, 38, has denied using AI to write the novel. The Quebec-based author of Haitian origin has argued that its distinctive rhythms and imagery reflect Haitian and Caribbean language traditions.
The controversy widened when French media raised separate plagiarism allegations concerning an earlier text associated with Orélien. The Goncourt academy cited those allegations alongside what it described as converging analyses suggesting the novel was largely produced with AI.
The academy said its decision was intended to protect the integrity of the prize and send a clear message about the use of AI in literary creation. The move does not, however, constitute an independent judicial or forensic finding that AI wrote the novel.
His book remains available commercially and has already established a substantial readership. Fnac lists “It Was Either That Or Die” as its 2026 prize winner, while the novel’s publisher has urged caution before conclusions are drawn from the allegations.
The Goncourt controversy now leaves Orélien’s novel at the center of a wider debate over authorship, AI detection and how literary institutions should respond when questions about a book’s creation arise after publication.