AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of the reported event.
- calendar_today October 21, 2026
Publisher Severs Ties with Haitian-Canadian Author
Montreal-based publishing house Éditions du Boréal announced on Wednesday that it is ending its professional association with Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian-born author residing in Quebec. The move follows new information indicating that artificial intelligence was used in the creation process of Orélien's prize-winning novel, C’était ça ou mourir.
AI Use Allegations Surface After Literary Acclaim
Orélien's novel, which tells the story of a Haitian migrant’s journey to Canada inspired by the author’s own experiences following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, was published earlier this year. It had been well-received in French-language literary circles and recently won the Prix du roman Fnac on September 21. However, the same day, an anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account shared screengrabs indicating that an AI detection tool named Pangram had identified the novel as being "100 per cent" generated by artificial intelligence, sparking a widespread novel controversy.
Publisher’s Investigation and Orélien's Response
In response to growing concerns, Éditions du Boréal worked with Orélien to document his creative process and address the ai use allegations. Despite these efforts, the publisher stated in a news release that "these efforts failed to resolve the question of whether AI was used in his novel." Orélien had previously assured the publisher that he did not rely on AI technology to write C’était ça ou mourir. In a recent statement, Orélien said the accusations were "slander and heresy," admitting only to limited AI use for research, with the core text, structure, and plot coming from himself.
Findings of AI Markers and Decision to End Relationship
Due to unresolved questions, the publishing house commissioned an external review of all working versions of the novel. The analysis found
Source: cbc.ca.
