Publisher pulls horror novel ‘Shy Girl’ over AI concerns

Hachette Book Group said it will not be publishing a novel called “Shy Girl” over concerns that artificial intelligence was used to generate the text.

The novel was scheduled to be published in the United States this spring. Hachette said it will also discontinue the book in the United Kingdom, where it’s already available. 

Although the publisher claimed the decision came after a thorough review of the text, reviewers on GoodReads and YouTube had been speculating that the book was likely AI-generated. And The New York Times said it asked Hachette about the “Shy Girl” concerns the day before the announcement.

In an email to the NYT, author Mia Ballard denied using AI to write her novel, instead blaming an acquaintance she’d hired to edit the original, self-published version of “Shy Girl.” Ballard said she’s pursuing legal action, and that as a result of the controversy “my mental health is at an all time low and my name is ruined for something I didn’t even personally do.”

Writer Lincoln Michel and other industry observers have noted that U.S. publishers rarely do extensive editing when they acquire titles that have already been published in other forms.