Boréal cuts ties with Orélien after finding AI metadata in novel drafts

Canadian publisher Les Éditions du Boréal has ended its professional relationship with Haitian Canadian novelist Thélyson Orélien after an investigation found signs that AI was used in his novel, *C’était ça ou mourir* (*It Was Either That or Die*). The decision follows Orélien’s removal from the Prix Goncourt shortlist last month and raises questions about the evidence and limits of AI detection in literary work.

Boréal said an outside analysis of the novel’s drafts found AI tags in the metadata of some documents, but it could not establish how much AI contributed. The book had been due for translation in more than 20 countries, and the AI detector Pangram had earlier assessed it as containing computer-generated text with 100% probability. Orélien denies that a machine wrote any sentences, while saying he used AI for historical research; he says he began the book in 2017 and completed a first draft in 2019.