The New Zealand Book Awards Trust has removed two books by award-winning authors of the country from contention for the $65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The reason is the use of artificial intelligence in creation of their cover designs.
The books are Stephanie Johnson’s collection of short stories Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither’s collection of novellas Angel Train. Both had received one of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
The New Zealand Herald quoting the awards trust said a bookseller suspected AI use and alerted the organisers. Following this the books were ruled out of the competition.
“It is obviously heartbreaking that two wonderful pieces of fiction by highly respected authors have become embroiled in this issue, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with their writing,” Quentin Wilson, publisher of both the books was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Wilson said the awards committee amended the guidelines on AI use in August by which time the covers of every book submitted for the awards would have already been designed.
“It was, therefore, far too late for any publisher to have taken this clause into account in their design briefs,” Wilson was quoted as saying.
