Jerry Falade, who had 14 different publishing houses bidding for his 'Call Me, I'll Hide The Body' novel, is now on the defensive.
An author who lost a seven-figure book deal over accusations that he used AI to write his debut novel is fighting back, denying the claims, as what was once viewed as a hallmark for a young writer has become a source of controversy.
In a series of Instagram posts, Jerry Falade stated he was "Definitely innocent!!!" while adding, "They CAN'T and WON'T stop this Black boy's light from shining."
The aspiring author had written "Call Me, I'll Hide The Body," a crime novel that immediately garnered attention and sparked a bidding war among some of the biggest names in book publishing. More than 14 publishers bid on the novel before Macmillan's Minotaur imprint reportedly acquired the U.S. rights, while HarperCollins secured the U.K. rights. In total, the publishing deal for Falade's debut book and a follow-up was around $2 million.
However, Falade's literary agent stepped in, stating that he could no longer support the book and informing both publishing houses of his concerns about the use of AI in its writing. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Falade informed the outlet that he did use AI, but only during the research phase of the novel, but not for the actual manuscript. He stated he relied on an open-source AI tool to answer research questions tied to the book's subject matter, including forensic details and opted for a locally run model because it does not retain extensive search histories.
#novel #hide
An author who lost a seven-figure book deal over accusations that he used AI to write his debut novel is fighting back, denying the claims, as what was once viewed as a hallmark for a young writer has become a source of controversy.
In a series of Instagram posts, Jerry Falade stated he was "Definitely innocent!!!" while adding, "They CAN'T and WON'T stop this Black boy's light from shining."
The aspiring author had written "Call Me, I'll Hide The Body," a crime novel that immediately garnered attention and sparked a bidding war among some of the biggest names in book publishing. More than 14 publishers bid on the novel before Macmillan's Minotaur imprint reportedly acquired the U.S. rights, while HarperCollins secured the U.K. rights. In total, the publishing deal for Falade's debut book and a follow-up was around $2 million.
However, Falade's literary agent stepped in, stating that he could no longer support the book and informing both publishing houses of his concerns about the use of AI in its writing. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Falade informed the outlet that he did use AI, but only during the research phase of the novel, but not for the actual manuscript. He stated he relied on an open-source AI tool to answer research questions tied to the book's subject matter, including forensic details and opted for a locally run model because it does not retain extensive search histories.
#novel #hide
2 months ago
