Author Loses $2 Million Book Deal Over AI Allegations

Just a week ago, new author Jerry Falade was on top of the literary world.

Though not a household name, Falade’s debut novel, Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body, had been picked up by Minotaur, an imprint of Macmillan. In a deal valued at over $2 million for that plus another book, Falade was also fielding offers for international rights and for film adaptations.

However, within hours, it all came crashing down.

Falade’s agents abruptly pulled the book from consideration. The reason, according to an email from his agent to publishers, was that they were “no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion.”

It goes on to say that, “During the submission process we vetted the manuscript with Jerry for AI and felt trusting in his reassurance that it was written without utilizing AI as a resource in the writing or editorial process. We can no longer substantiate that, and we are withdrawing the book.”

First reported by industry insider Jeff Sneider, he goes on to say that Falade will likely be forced to return the advance as the deal has been terminated.

Falade, for his part, strongly denies that he used AI to write the book. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he admitted to using AI to research elements of the book, but not to write the book itself. He has further vowed to continue to pursue the publication of the book and has retained a lawyer.

So what happened and what can other authors learn from this? Sadly, there is not a lot of information to go around.

What Happened?

Note: In Sneider’s original reporting, he kept Falade anonymous. However, since then major publications including The Guardian, The New York Post and the Wall Street Journal have reported on the story and included his name and quotes. As such, I will be using his name.

The backroom machinations of the publishing industry are, for the most part, completely opaque. Even after a book is published, it’s not uncommon for the public to have no idea how the book made it from the author’s mind to the reader’s hands.

There are only a few facts that we know for certain in this story. First, the book became the subject of a massive 14-way bidding war that was eventually won by Minotaur. Even the size of the deal is in question as reports vary from $2 million to as high as $4 million.

However, after that deal was signed and as other auctions were ongoing, Falade’s agents pulled the book from consideration. According to the agents, they had vetted the book with Falade before beginning the bidding process but, after some questions were raised by an acquiring editor, they approached Falade again aspects of his story changed, causing them to cut ties due to a lack of “total faith.”

On the other hand, Falade says that he was never asked about AI usage and did not consent to having his book run through AI detectors. He has repeatedly denied using AI to write the book, other than for research. Falade, who is black, also alleges that the scrutiny his book has received was due, at least in part, to his race.

We don’t know and can’t know what evidence, if any, these allegations are based on. Falade’s agents have not discussed how they arrived at the conclusion they did.

That said, I do think it’s very telling that it was Falade’s agents who pulled the book from consideration, not the publisher canceling the deal.

In the literary world, your agent is akin to your lawyer. They are your representative with an obligation to protect your interests. Also, by pulling the book, they are missing out on what was likely at least a 15% commission (worth at least $300,000).

I don’t see why an agent would back out from a deal like that without some serious reservations. That’s not to say that the allegations are true. It’s just to say that they almost certainly didn’t take this decision lightly.

That said, the agent did not say definitively that the book was written or assisted by AI. Instead, they said that they could no longer authenticate how the book was written. That is a different issue and a much bigger one for future authors.

The Lesson for Authors

Falade’s story should serve as a warning to other authors. The reason is simple. It’s possible, even likely, that Falade is telling the truth and that his book was wholly human-written. However, because he can’t prove that to the satisfaction of his agents, his life-changing book deal has been canceled.

If you were pressured to prove that your work was human-written, how would you do it? Though AI detection tools are improving, they are still flawed. Do you have a version history to show how your book evolved? What about all of your research notes or other information?

In 2026, authors are fundamentally guilty until proven innocent. This is why I added an AI disclosure to my site, even though I don’t use AI to write my articles. You need to be prepared to defend your work and that’s not easy to do if you wait until after the fact.

So my advice to aspiring authors is simple: Always write in a space where you can show the document’s history, keep all of your notes and research, always disclose any AI usage, no matter how small, and make sure that everything is thoroughly backed up.

You do not want to lose your evidence because your hard drive crashed.

If you do those things and questions about AI usage come up, you will at least have an answer. Whether that answer is believed is another matter. But having an answer is significantly better than having no answer.

Bottom Line

One question that I’ve seen come up repeatedly is “Why does it matter?”

If the book is as good as the publisher and agents say it is, then who cares if AI was used?

Setting aside the plagiarism and other ethical concerns, the publisher sure as hell cares. In the United States, AI-generated work does not qualify for copyright protection. That means, theoretically, the publisher could have paid millions of dollars for a book that anyone else would be free to copy and distribute.

While that is an extreme example, publishers are not eager to take a risk on a work where some or all of the rights are questionable. Publishers want certainty and AI usage, or the appearance of it, inserts a great deal of uncertainty into the project.

In the end, there is no way to know if Falade’s book was written or assisted by AI. This article is not meant to accuse him of using AI or to defend him. It’s to point out the obvious, that whether he used AI or not is almost irrelevant.

As we talked about last month when discussing the story of Mia Ballard and her book Shy Girl, the perception of AI usage is more important than the reality. Authors need to be aware of this and prepare accordingly. This means saving everything that went into a particular work, from notes to drafts and edits, to show that the work was human-written.

Will it work? I don’t know. But I’d sleep better at night knowing that I did everything I could and that I had evidence of my work. I want the same for all other (human) authors.