A highly anticipated debut crime novel by Nigerian writer Jerry Adedayo Falade has lost a major publishing deal after questions emerged over whether artificial intelligence was used during the writing process.
Falade’s novel, Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body, had attracted significant attention in the US publishing industry and reportedly received a deal worth around $2 million to $2.4 million from Minotaur, a Macmillan US imprint, following a competitive 14-publisher auction. The book was expected to be published in 2028.
The manuscript had also generated interest from publishers in other markets and from the film and television industry.
Why was the deal withdrawn?
The controversy emerged during the submission process after an editor raised concerns about possible signs of AI involvement in the manuscript.
Falade’s US agent, Marc Gerald of Europa Content, initially said the agency chose not to rely on AI-detection software because the author’s explanation that he had written the book without using AI appeared clear and credible.
However, following a meeting with Falade on July 29, the agency said aspects of his account had changed. It subsequently concluded that it could no longer verify how the manuscript had developed from its original form to completion and withdrew the book from publishers. The agency also ended its representation of Falade.
Importantly, there is no publicly established evidence that Falade used AI to write the novel. Falade has consistently denied the allegation.
Falade denies using AI to write the novel
Falade says he wrote the book himself and has challenged the suggestion that artificial intelligence generated the manuscript.
He has pointed to earlier writing material and records as evidence of the novel’s development over time. He has also questioned the reliability of AI-detection tools and argued that the manuscript had already passed through multiple readers, editors and acquisition teams without being identified as AI-generated.
Falade has acknowledged using an AI tool for research, but says he did not use it to write the novel. According to reports, his research involved sensitive subjects relevant to the crime story, and he used an open-source AI model locally on his own device.
Author raises concerns about racial bias
Falade has also argued that the controversy reflects a broader issue of racial bias in publishing.
He said Black writers who secure major publishing deals have faced particular scrutiny over suspected AI use, while some white authors have openly discussed using AI in their writing processes without experiencing comparable consequences. He has described the situation as part of a wider pattern in which the creative work of Black writers can be questioned when it attracts significant attention.
His claims about racial bias remain his allegations and have not been established as a finding against the publishers or agents involved.
A wider challenge for the publishing industry
The dispute highlights a growing problem for publishers and literary agents as generative AI becomes increasingly common: how can they reliably determine whether a manuscript was written by a human, assisted by AI or substantially generated by AI?
The issue is complicated by the limitations of AI-detection software. A positive detection result does not by itself establish who wrote a text, while a negative result cannot necessarily prove that AI was never used.
For publishers, the question also involves copyright, authorship, contractual assurances and trust between writers, agents and publishing houses.
Falade’s case therefore extends beyond a single cancelled deal. It has become another example of the uncertainty surrounding AI and creative authorship at a time when publishers are still developing standards for disclosure and verification.
For now, the publishing deal for Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body has been withdrawn, while Falade continues to deny that AI was used to write the novel.
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