Goncourt Academy withdraws Montreal author's novel over AI and plagiarism

The Académie Goncourt announced Friday it withdrew Thélyson Orélien's novel 'C'était ça ou mourir' from its selection for the prestigious Goncourt Prize, citing plagiarism allegations and evidence that the work was largely generated using artificial intelligence.

Orélien, a Canadian-Haitian author, had seen the novel placed in the Académie's first shortlist. Published in Canada before a French release in August by Grasset, the book became a literary-season bestseller and won the Fnac novel prize Monday. It was also selected for consideration by the Fémina and Médicis prizes.

The Académie said the withdrawal was necessary "to preserve the integrity of the Goncourt Prize and that of the Academy, whose central role consists in promoting and crowning literature written by women and men." The decision points to plagiarisms Orélien committed over time, recently revealed, and to convergent analyses by credible researchers and journalists that found 'C'était ça ou mourir' was "very largely the product of artificial intelligence."

"It is a matter of sending a clear message," the Académie added, "to affirm that we neither endorse nor approve in any way the creation of texts generated with the aid of AI."

The Académie, led by writer Philippe Claudel, will publish its second shortlist October 6. The Goncourt Prize is awarded November 4.