Thélyson Orélien row: publisher says AI used to write 'C'était ça ou mourir'
The Quebec author has been at the centre of a controversy for weeks. On Wednesday, his Canadian publisher Les Éditions du Boréal admitted that AI was indeed used to write his latest novel.
Published on 21/10/2026 - 21:20 GMT+2
The case has been shaking the French-language publishing world for weeks. On Wednesday 21 October, the Canadian publisher Les Éditions du Boréal announced via a press release (source in French) that Thélyson Orélien had indeed used artificial intelligence (AI) to write his novel "C'était ça ou mourir", contrary to what he had previously claimed.
"New information, confirmed in recent days, indicates that artificial intelligence was used in the writing process (of the novel), even though the author had assured us, on several occasions, that he had never resorted to it in creating his book", the publisher said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As a result, Boréal will not reprint the novel and will not publish any further books by Thélyson Orélien."
This announcement comes just a week after the publisher had said it was backing the author, insisting it had no evidence that would make it possible to establish with certainty that AI had been used.
In the face of mounting doubts, and after Thélyson Orélien "announced that he would not provide any further material", the publisher says it has "commissioned an in-depth external analysis" of "all the working versions of the novel".
"We still do not know to what extent AI was used in the creation of "C'était ça ou mourir", and we will probably never have a definitive answer on that point" but "for us, the fundamental issue is the relationship of trust between authors and publishers", the publishing house added.
The controversy was sparked by accusations from the X account "Balance ton Claude", which claimed to have identified extensive use of AI in the novel. The affair has since shaken the sector and, for weeks, fuelled questions about the future of the writing profession.
