$2M Crime Novel Deal Collapses Amid Suspicions of AI Authorship
nordicinst · x · 2026-08-01
A high-profile publishing deal for a debut crime novel has collapsed after doubts emerged over whether artificial intelligence played a role in writing it, The Guardian reports.
- The Deal: Jerry Falade’s manuscript Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body reportedly received an offer of more than $2m from Minotaur (Macmillan US) as part of a 14-way auction, with publication planned for 2028.
- The Collapse: Falade’s agents withdrew the book, stating they could no longer authenticate "how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion." They noted they had previously vetted the manuscript for AI and trusted the author's reassurance that it was written without AI assistance.
This incident highlights the growing challenges and strict scrutiny publishers and agents face when dealing with suspected AI-generated content.
Related event: $2M Book Deal Canceled Over AI Plagiarism Suspicions(2 posts)→
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