Publisher pulls horror novel ‘Shy Girl’ over concerns about artificial intelligence

Hachette Book Group said it will not publish a novel called “The Shy Girl” due to concerns that artificial intelligence was used to create the text.

The novel was scheduled to be published in the United States this spring. Hachette said it would also discontinue the book in the UK, where it is already available.

Although the publisher claimed the decision came after a thorough review of the text, reviewers on GoodReads and YouTube have been speculating that the book was likely produced by artificial intelligence. The New York Times said it asked Hachette about her concerns about the “shy girl” the day before the announcement.

In an email to The New York Times, author Mia Ballard denied using artificial intelligence to write her novel, instead blaming an acquaintance she hired to edit the original self-published version of “Shy Girl.” Ballard said she is taking legal action, and as a result of the controversy, “my mental health is at an all-time low, and my name has been ruined for something I personally didn’t even do.”

Writer Lincoln Mischel and other industry observers have noted that American publishers rarely undertake extensive editing when they acquire titles that have already been published in other formats.