Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien denies using AI, but admits to having committed plagiarism in the past

In a letter sent to Reuters and other media outlets by his French publisher, Grasset, Orelien addressed for the first time in detail allegations that his award-winning novel published this year, “C’était Ça ou Mourir” (“It Was This or Die”), was written using AI, as well as accusations of plagiarism in the past.

A little-known account on X called “Balance ton Claude” had claimed in September that an AI detection tool had shown that the 2026 novel was written almost entirely by AI. French essayist Samuel Fitoussi later claimed authorship of the account, saying he ran it with other unidentified people.

Canadian newspaper La Presse then reported that a 2012 short story by Orelien had plagiarized excerpts from a book by French author Louis Pauwels, while a 2013 opinion piece had been copied from The Philippine Star.

Orelien denied having used AI, but acknowledged previous plagiarism, stating that admiration for other writers did not justify presenting their work as his own and classifying his actions as “unacceptable mistakes”.

He stated that “criticism is always legitimate, but the threats, media lynching and racist harassment that I have been subjected to for weeks are unbearable”, adding that he wants his novel to be judged “for what it is”.

“C’était Ça ou Mourir” is the 37-year-old author’s debut novel and tells the story of a Haitian migrant who travels north through Latin America before arriving in Canada. The book won several literary awards and was to be translated into several languages.

"This novel, I wrote it myself. It comes from my wounds and those of other migrants. That wound of exile, which never heals. This novel is its fruit; it is the fruit of my work; it is my creation", wrote Orelien in the letter.