The publishing industry has been thrown into controversy after Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body, an unpublished debut novel that reportedly secured a $2.4 million, two-book deal with Minotaur and Macmillan, was withdrawn over concerns about the possible use of artificial intelligence. The novel, which follows Femi Johnson, a Nigerian man from Lagos who relocates to Houston and becomes involved with a drug cartel, had also attracted interest from film studios and international publishers. However, the book’s foreign rights submission was pulled after agents said they could no longer verify how the manuscript evolved “from origin to completion.”

The controversy began after questions emerged about whether the author had used AI in the writing process. According to reports, publishers and agents had initially proceeded after receiving assurances that no AI tools had been used, but later concerns raised by AI-detection systems led to the suspension of the book’s international rollout. UTA and Europa Content, which had been handling rights negotiations, have since withdrawn from the project.

This, amongst other recent cases, has sparked debate on social media, with some writers questioning whether publishers are carrying out sufficient investigations before publicly distancing themselves from authors accused of using AI. Some others argued that allegations involving Black and other writers of colour are often treated as conclusive before due process takes place, comparing the situation to previous controversies involving African writers. Others have called on publishers to spend weeks or even months verifying such claims before making them public, warning that accusations of AI use could disproportionately affect writers whose abilities are already subjected to greater scrutiny.

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