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.
Wilson told The New Zealand Herald that “If the Awards Trust had signalled its intention to change the criteria well in advance of the submission process (such major changes are normally signalled a year in advance), more nuanced and widely understood eligibility criteria could have been developed.”
Wilson said the situation highlighted the need to develop thorough and clear guidelines around AI use, especially when authors already heavily relied on tools like Photoshop and Grammarly.
Nicola Legat, the chair of the book awards trust, which administers the Ockham awards, said the trust takes a “firm stance on the use of AI in books”.
“The trust does not take lightly a decision that prevents the latest works of two of New Zealand’s most esteemed writers from being considered for the 2026 award,” Legat said. "However, the criteria apply to all entrants, regardless of their mana, and must be consistently applied to all."