The Goncourt Academy announced on Friday that it was withdrawing Canadian-Haitian author Télésun Ourelién’s novel from the list of works nominated for its literary prize, amid allegations that its author had committed plagiarism and used artificial intelligence to write the text. The academy said the decision was motivated by its determination to protect the integrity of the Goncourt Prize and the institution overseeing it, stressing that its primary role was to support and celebrate literary works written by men and women.
C’était ça ou mourir on the preliminary list
C’était ça ou mourir, published by Grasset, had previously been included on the preliminary list of works competing for the prize, whose winner is due to be announced and presented on 4 November.
The academy attributed the novel’s withdrawal to what it described as plagiarism committed by the author over a period of years and uncovered only recently. It also cited matching findings from analyses conducted by researchers and journalists whom it described as reliable, saying the results suggested that the novel was, to a large extent, the product of artificial intelligence.
The academy added that it wanted to send a clear message that it neither accepted nor supported the writing of texts with the assistance of artificial intelligence in any form. The academy, headed by author Philippe Claudel, is due to announce its second list of literary works nominated for the prize on 6 October.
