The Commonwealth Prize conducted a review of the 2026 finalists, concluding that AI was not used in the prize-winning story. The committee did not use AI tools in the review, opting instead to ask participants. They write that they held “detailed discussions with all regional winners about their creative process” and examined “evidence related to the development of their stories, including working drafts, time-stamped documents and notes.” Earlier this week, Granta discontinued its partnership with the prize, following accusations that three out of the five nominated stories were written with AI. The committee writes, “After a thorough consultation with our […]
Controversies
Granta Ends Prize Partnerships After AI Fiasco
Granta magazine has ended its “external publishing partnerships,” including one with the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, after accusations that prize-winning stories were written with AI. As part of their partnership, Granta published five winning stories online, though magazine editors didn’t have anything to do with their selection. “Granta editors were not involved with these stories or their selection beyond copy-editing them upon receipt,” a spokesperson for the magazine said at the time. In a release, Granta stated, “For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage […]
Criticism Over AI in Creation Hits Nobel Winner, a Book About AI, and a UK Prize
What a week yesterday was, as several controversies over AI use in book publishing emerged. During the Poznań Impact event in Poland, Nobel laureate in literature Olga Tokarczuk said that she used AI while working on her next novel, as reported by My Company Polska. Tokarczuk said that she asked an LLM what songs her characters might have danced to in the past. She also expressed support for the technology as a useful tool for writers. “I often throw an idea to the machine for analysis, asking, ‘Honey, how could we develop this beautifully?’,” she said. “Even though I know […]
Commonwealth Foundation and Granta Stand By Short Story After AI Accusations
One winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize has been accused of being AI-generated. Online posts have noted that the AI checker Pangram rated “The Serpent in the Grove” by Jamir Nazir as 100 percent AI-created. Critics of AI detectors note that they are not always accurate; Pangram is among the more well-respected tools. The prize honors five unpublished short stories from the British Commonwealth of Nations. Granta published all five winning stories online. “Granta editors were not involved with these stories or their selection beyond copy-editing them upon receipt,” a spokesperson for the magazine said. “We are alarmed by the speculation that […]
Mac Barnett Responds To Backlash
Children’s author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett has responded to the online controversy caused by an excerpt from his recently published book for adults Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children. He writes in the book, “I have a nagging fear that children’s literature suffers from a slightly higher crud percentage than literature as a whole…maybe more like 94.7 percent of kids’ books are crud.” Since the book was published on Tuesday, authors and readers in the kidlit community have compared him to pro-book banning organizations and called for him to resign from his ambassadorship. Author […]
Harper UK Drops David Walliams Following Allegations, Investigation in 2024
Harper Collins UK has decided not to publish any more books by bestselling children’s author David Walliams, the Telegraph reports, apparently in reaction to an investigation by the newspaper. The Telegraph says its efforts began following “allegations of inappropriate behavior by Walliams last year.” The company launched its own investigation into Walliams last year after claims that he had “harassed” junior female staff at the publisher. “After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision,” a Harper UK […]