$2M Crime Novel Deal Collapses Amid AI Use Allegations as Author Claims Racial Bias

$2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use

Agents withdraw Jerry Falade's hotly anticipated debut after saying they can no longer authenticate 'how the manuscript evolved' 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 The hotly anticipated manuscript Call Me, I'll Hide the Body, by Jerry Falade, was withdrawn from sale by its agent after reportedly receiving an offer for more than $2m (£1.5m) from Minotaur, owned by Macmillan US, as part of a 14-way auction. The plan was to publish it in 2028. An email sent to publishers by Falade's agents and seen by the Guardian said: "Jerry Falade produced an incredible manuscript that dazzled us and the top publishing professionals around the world. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion." It continued: "During the submission process we vetted the manuscript with Jerry for AI and felt trusting in his reassurance that it was written without utilising AI as a resource in the writing or editorial process. We can no longer substantiate that, and we are withdrawing the book." The US auction was run by the author's agent Marc Gerald of Europa Content, according to the Bookseller. In the UK, Sandy Hodgman of Hodgman Literary is said to have secured several six-figure bids through a similarly competitive process. The Guardian has approached both agents for comment. Gerald told the Bookseller he first read the book in June, and that it was "stunningly good, everyone fell in love with it. It's a book that appeals to absolutely everyone." He said that halfway through the submissions process, an editor raised concerns that the book had signs of potential AI use. Gerald said Europa opted against using AI-detection software to check the manuscript, saying Falade was "clear and credible" in his explanation. However, after a meeting on 29 July, when "aspects of [Falade's] story changed", the agency decided to cut ties, citing the "need to have total faith". "We feel terrible for putting this into the universe and the firestorm it has caused," Gerald added. "The book itself is genius - however it came to be drafted, it's amazing." Falade's case is the latest in a string of controversies to hit publishing this year, as authors, agents and publishers grapple with how to handle suspected AI use in manuscripts. Earlier this year, Hachette pulled the US release of Mia Ballard's horror novel Shy Girl after rumours circulated online that the author had relied on AI, something she denies. In a statement to the Guardian, Falade rejected claims that he had used AI and said the response reflected racial bias in publishing. He said: "Three Black authors received major publishing deals this year, and all three later had deals cancelled or disrupted following suspicions about AI. There seems to be a troubling assumption that when a Black writer produces work that attracts significant attention, the work could not possibly be their own. Meanwhile, there are popular white writers who have publicly mentioned using AI for their writing processes and they're still doing fine." Falade did not name other authors, but two Black authors in the US - Ballard and HM Wolfe, author of the viral romance Daggermouth - faced allegations of AI use this year. Wolfe also denies she used AI. Falade said: "In my case, rumours began circulating and, within six hours, I had been dropped by my agency, deals were paused, and press releases were being issued." He added that AI-detection tools "are widely known to produce false positives". He said the novel had "passed through first readers, second readers, editors, and acquisitions teams at numerous publishing houses ... If the manuscript had shown genuine signs of being generated by AI, it is difficult to believe that every one of those experienced professionals would have failed to notice."

Major Publisher Cans $2.4 Million Book Deal After Author Was Accused of Using AI, for a Very Cynical Reason

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Book publisher Minotaur, which is owned by leading publishing company Macmillan US, has walked away from a $2.4 million deal for an unpublished debut novel "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body" by author Jerry Falade. As Deadline reports, questions surrounding the use of AI during the writing of the book made the publisher drop the contract altogether. But it's not because the company is drawing an ethical line in the sand while highlighting a major problem for the industry -- instead, Minotaur is staying away because it may not be able to secure the copyright if the book contains passages written by an AI. It's truly a sign of the times. There's a growing crisis as AI slop continues to make it increasingly difficult for genuine writers to stand out. Whether accusations of authors having used AI are founded or not almost seems beside the point -- the tech has made a huge mess of the publishing world that feels increasingly impossible to clean up. Despite the latest crime novel being currently unpublished, film and TV studios around the world had already begun jostling for rights for "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body," according to Deadline, making it a particularly hairy situation. But AI detectors exposed apparent "fingerprints," or signs that the author had made use of the tech while drafting the novel. Falade has denied the accusations. "[The author] produced an incredible manuscript that dazzled us and the top publishing professionals around the world," Hodgman Literary independent agent Sandy Hodgman told international publishers in an email obtained by Deadline. "Unfortunately, we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion." "During the submission process we vetted the manuscript with [the author] for AI and felt trusting in his reassurance that it was written without utilizing AI as a resource in the writing or editorial process," she added. "We can no longer substantiate that, and we are withdrawing the book." As a result, several companies that had already started selling rights to the crime novel stopped altogether, pulling out of the project. It's a precarious inflection point for an industry already reeling from a massive influx of lazy AI slop. Human authors are seeing their life's work get ripped off by generative AI tools. Amazon is being flooded with entirely AI-generated books, drowning out works by actual human authors. It's become such a big problem, even OpenAI directed its blockbuster ChatGPT to start refusing requests to copy a specific author's style, as Ars Technica reported earlier this week. Yet glaring questions over the use of AI and copyright infringement remain unanswered as countless lawsuits work their way through the court system. Just earlier this month, a group of major publishers sued Google, accusing it of illegally scraping millions of copyrighted books to train its Gemini AI model. Whether AI was used in the writing of the sought-after novel remains murky, making the developing situation particularly intriguing. According to entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider, the author of "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body" will have to return the money. "The accusations are wrong, and I am completely innocent," the author told Sneider over the phone. "I was on the verge of success, and then all of a sudden, there were rumors, but no one asked me anything. I don't know why my agency did not have my back." "I've lost so much already," the author added. "I have no one to call... no friends in this industry. I don't know anything. I simply wrote my manuscript, and it sparked crazy bidding wars across multiple countries." The news comes after author Mia Ballard's novel, "Shy Girl," was pulled from shelves back in March after she was widely accused of using AI to help write the book, as The New York Times reported at the time. "This controversy has changed my life in many ways and my mental health is at an all time low and my name is ruined for something I didn't even personally do," she told the newspaper. More on authors and AI: Novel Pulled From Shelves After Author Is Accused of Using AI

Author who lost $2M book deal over AI concerns claims allegations are racially motivated: 'Definitely innocent!!!'

An author who lost a $2 million book deal over allegations he may have used AI to write it is denying the claims, saying they are racially motivated. Jerry Falade, a grad student at Southern Methodist University, spoke out on Tuesday after his own reps pulled the plug on the sale of his first crime novel, "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body." "Definitely innocent!!!," he wrote in an Instagram story. "They CAN'T and WON'T stop this Black boy's light from shining!!," he wrote in a second post. In a series of social media posts, he said claims against him are part of a historical pattern of diminishing the intellectual contributions of people of color. "If you're a Person of Color and you secure a lucrative deal in history, someone, somewhere, will accuse you of using AI," he wrote. Meanwhile, he added that white authors "brag about using AI all the time." Fourteen publishers had bet on the US rights for Falade's debut novel, and he ultimately inked a deal with Minotaur, a Macmillan US imprint for a reported $2 million. HarperCollins Publishers won the UK rights. Not long after the deals closed, Falade's agent at Europa Content notified the publishers in a letter that he could no longer support the book after concerns were raised about the author's possible use of AI to write it. Falade told the Wall Street Journal that he only used AI for research, "and not for writing the book itself." He explained that he relied on a tool that let him run an open-source AI model on his own device, to obtain details on topics like what chemical someone might use to dissolve a human body. The tool he used doesn't keep or share extensive search histories, raising eyebrows. But Falade said he used that method because of the grizzly subject matter of the questions for his crime novel -- which he felt could raise red flags if they were tracked. The scribe said that none of the editors he met with during the book-sale process asked about AI usage, noting that he never consented to having his manuscript run through AI detection software. He said it was "very suspicious" that much of the coverage of his situation has focused on the growing capabilities of that software, adding that he has retained a lawyer. He told the Journal that he was contacted by a reporter who said there were rumors of AI usage. Hours later, he learned his agent, Marc Gerald, was pulling support for his tome. Falade declined to comment on the current status of the book deals. Gerald said he is no longer Falade's literary agent and declined to comment further Tuesday. A rep for Macmillan confirmed Friday that the publisher participated in an auction for "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body" and that "the agent ultimately pulled the book." The spokeswoman didn't respond to requests for comment this week on the current status of the book deal with Falade. A rep for HarperCollins, which like The Post is owned by News Corp, also declined to comment on the status of its deal. In the meantime, Falade said, he is going forward with his next work. "Trust me, when this book is finally released, the bidding war we saw on 'Call Me, I'll Hide the Body' will be child's play compared to this," he told the Journal.

Debut novelist's $2M deal for 'amazing' book canceled on suspicions of AI use

A first-time novelist's whopping $2 million book deal was cancelled on suspicion AI had a role in writing it -- after the work drew stellar praise from publishing savants. Jerry Falade's own reps pulled the plug on the sale of his debut crime novel, "Call Me, I'll Hide the Body," after drawing the eye-popping offer from Minotaur, a Macmillan US imprint, according to the Guardian. In an email to the publishers, Falade's agents reportedly said they initially accepted the author's assurances that AI had not been used in writing or editing the manuscript. "Jerry Falade produced an incredible manuscript that dazzled us and the top publishing professionals around the world," they were quoted as saying. "Unfortunately, we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion." The agents added that they vetted the manuscript with Falade during the submission process and trusted his assurances that no AI was used -- but they moved to withdraw the book because they could "no longer substantiate that." The book had generated huge intense interest on both sides of the Atlantic and was slated for publication in 2028. The US auction, run by Europa Content's Marc Gerald, reportedly drew 14 bidders, while UK agent Sandy Hodgman secured multiple six-figure offers. Gerald told The Bookseller he first read the novel in June, describing it at the time as "stunningly good" and saying "everyone fell in love with it." It's "a book that appeals to absolutely everyone," he beamed. According to Gerald, Europa opted against using AI-detection software when an editor raised concerns about possible AI use in the work, because Falade's explanation of the matter was "clear and credible." But after a July 29 meeting in which "aspects of [Falade's] story changed," the agency decided to end its relationship with the author, Gerald told The Bookseller "We feel terrible for putting this into the universe and the firestorm it has caused," he said. "The book itself is genius -- however it came to be drafted, it's amazing," Gerald added. Falade denied to the Guardian that he used AI and alleged that the industry's response to his book reflected racial bias. "Three Black authors received major publishing deals this year, and all three later had deals cancelled or disrupted following suspicions about AI," he said. "There seems to be a troubling assumption that when a Black writer produces work that attracts significant attention, the work could not possibly be their own." He didn't provide examples, but black authors Mia Ballard and HM Wolfe were accused of AI use this year, the Guardian noted. Falade also said AI-detection tools "are widely known to produce false positives" and argued that the manuscript was reviewed by multiple readers, editors and acquisitions teams at publishing houses before his agents pulled the plug. "If the manuscript had shown genuine signs of being generated by AI, it is difficult to believe that every one of those experienced professionals would have failed to notice," he said. Tisha Morris, an entertainment attorney who specializes in publishing law at Legacy Arts Law PC, told The Post that the Falade controversy highlights a growing challenge for the publishing industry since "AI use is easier to allege than to actually prove." AI is often used by authors for tasks aside from generating prose, such as spelling, research or brainstorming, she said. "Publishers need confidence that the author can grant the rights promised in the publishing agreement, that the work is eligible for copyright protection, and that it does not contain unauthorized material generated from third-party sources," Morris added. The Post has sought comment from Falade, Gerald, Hodgman and Minotaur.