Goncourt Academy drops Haitian-Canadian novelist after AI and plagiarism accusations

The Académie Goncourt announced on Friday, September 25, that it had withdrawn "C'était ça ou mourir," the debut novel by Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien, from its first selection for the 2026 prize, according to Livres Hebdo and Le Monde. The novel, published by Grasset, had been considered one of the notable titles of this year's rentrée littéraire.

The decision followed a week of accusations that Orélien had used artificial intelligence to write parts of the book, and, from Thursday, additional claims of plagiarism, according to Bibliobs. The Académie said its move was meant, in its words reported by Le Monde, to "send a clear message" that it does not "condone or endorse in any way the creation of texts generated with the help of AI."

The accusations originated with an anonymous X account called "Balance ton Claude," which claimed the novel was, in the words cited by El País, "in all likelihood the product of an artificial intelligence." Télérama and Bibliobs reported that one of the people behind the account is Samuel Fitoussi, an essayist and Le Figaro columnist who is also an investor in AI, and who has said he did not act for ideological reasons.

Grasset, the book's French publisher, has continued to support Orélien, while his Quebec publisher, Boréal, suspended his promotional tour, according to Livres Hebdo. The dispute has since widened to include scrutiny of the author's earlier texts, Le Monde reported.

Le Courrier, in Switzerland, described the Académie's decision as driven by a wish to preserve the integrity of the Goncourt Prize. Le Monde separately traced the arc of a writer who, in its words, seemed "promised a literary rise that has now come to a halt."