Author faces renewed scrutiny

Several weeks after the Thélyson Orélien incident, the Canadian-Haitian author is under renewed scrutiny over claims that his debut novel, C'était ça ou mourir, was written with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The book, published by Les Éditions du Boréal in Canada and Grasset in France, won the Fnac Novel Prize in September 2026 but was later removed from the Goncourt Prize shortlist due to suspicions of AI use and previous plagiarism admissions by Orélien.

Publisher ends collaboration

On October 21, 2026, Les Éditions du Boréal announced the end of its collaboration with Orélien, citing new evidence that AI was used in the writing process. The publisher stated that an external analysis of the novel's working documents revealed "traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents," contradicting Orélien's previous claims that he had not used AI for the novel's creation.

Broader AI debate in publishing

The controversy has sparked broader discussions in the literary world about the role of AI in writing and the potential for AI-generated texts to disrupt traditional publishing. Arnaud Nourry, a former CEO of Hachette Livre, warned that AI could become a "machine of war" capable of producing vast numbers of books at a lower cost, potentially threatening the livelihoods of authors and publishers.

Ethical concerns about AI training

The situation has also raised questions about the ethical use of human-created texts to train AI models. Several major publishers, including Hachette, have taken legal action against companies like Meta for using their works without permission to train AI models. Some publishers are now exploring labels like "100% humain" to reassure readers about the human involvement in literary works.

Plagiarism and AI image use

Orélien's case has reignited discussions about plagiarism, with recent investigations revealing similarities between his journalistic work and other publications, including the use of AI-generated images. Orélien has described his past plagiarism as "errors of youth" and has apologized, but he has not provided evidence to address the new allegations.

Novel's continued success

Despite the controversy, C'était ça ou mourir has continued to sell well in France, with over 83,713 copies sold by October 11, 2026. The novel remains in contention for the Renaudot Prize. However, the termination of Orélien's contract with Les Éditions du Boréal raises questions about the future of his career and the potential impact on his upcoming projects, including a second novel about street gangs that had been put on hold.