Award-winning Haitian author denies AI authorship claims for debut novel

Thélyson Orélien, a 38-year-old Haitian-born writer based in Montreal, faces accusations that his debut novel was written almost entirely by artificial intelligence. The novel, C'était ça ou mourir (It was either that or die), won the Prix du Roman Fnac and is shortlisted for the Goncourt and Renaudot awards, two of France's most prestigious literary honours. On 23 September, a group calling itself Balance ton Claude (referencing Anthropic's Claude AI assistant) claimed on social media that the book was "100 percent AI" after testing multiple passages using an AI-detection tool called Pangram.

Orélien has firmly denied the allegations, telling Libération newspaper: "I have always loved creation and literature. I can't see why I would feel compelled to use a machine." He stated he is compiling evidence with his publisher to prove his authorship, emphasising that the novel's "images, repetitions and rhythms" reflect his Haitian and Caribbean traditions as "the living word" of his own voice. His publisher, Grasset, defended him, describing the accusations as "atrociously injurious to a writer with an exceptional life-story" and affirming that his "work of creation is original and powerful."

The novel tells the story of a teacher who escapes gang violence in Haiti and eventually reaches Canada. Orélien was born in 1988 in Gonaives, Haiti, and moved to Montreal in 2010, having previously worked as a journalist. The book is described by his Canadian publisher as its largest seller in 60 years and is scheduled for translation into approximately 20 languages.

The controversy has reignited debate about AI-detection tools and their reliability. Critics note that such programmes analyse linguistic patterns associated with AI-generated text but cannot definitively identify authorship. Research shows these tools can incorrectly flag human writing as AI-generated or miss AI-produced text that has been edited. Experts also observe that AI-detectors trained on standardised language may struggle with texts employing Caribbean dialect. The case echoes a 2026 controversy involving Trinidadian writer Jamir Nazir's The Serpent in the Grove, which initially had its Commonwealth Short Story prize withdrawn over AI allegations but was subsequently re-awarded after organisers concluded the writing was genuine.

The row reflects broader uncertainty as AI adoption in creative fields becomes more common, with questions arising over what combination of human and machine input remains acceptable in literary creation.