Publisher Boréal confirms AI use in Thélyson Orélien's novel

Éditions du Boréal, a Quebec publishing house, has confirmed that artificial intelligence was indeed used in the writing of Thélyson Orélien's novel "C'était ça ou mourir". In a statement, the publisher claims that "results obtained this week revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of certain documents". This announcement ends a period during which the publishing house had publicly defended the writer a week earlier.

In response to this confirmation, Éditions du Boréal decided not to reprint the novel and not to publish any other books by Thélyson Orélien. The publisher is therefore ending its collaboration with the author, including for a second book contract that had been signed.

According to a thorough external analysis of all working versions of the novel, traces of AI tags were identified in the metadata. This discovery comes after a controversy launched at the end of September by the X account "Balance ton Claude" which had accused the author of using artificial intelligence.

Thélyson Orélien acknowledged in a rare interview having used artificial intelligence "in the creation process", notably for "historical research". The author nevertheless argues that "the book was written by me", thus contesting the full scope of the accusations against him.

The novel "C'était ça ou mourir" was part of the 2026 literary season and had made a sensation before this controversy erupted. The affair also caused a "shock wave" in the literary world according to some observers, raising broader questions about the detection, use and regulation of artificial intelligence in literature.

As the affair resurfaces, debates on these issues are gradually giving way to concrete commitments within the book industry.