AI-Assisted Memoir Wins Award Amid Industry Debate

An author's memoir, "How to Win One Million Dollars and $#!T Glitter," which was co-written with AI, received a 2026 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, despite the author's explicit admission of using AI in the book's first page. The author stated they would "lie, cheat, and steal" in the narrative, a promise that led to some readers feeling "scammed." However, professional critics and award juries lauded the work, with Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize scoring it 9.5 out of 10 and Kirkus describing it as "an exuberant life story written with humor, panache, and heart."

The author, a painter by trade, noted a significant disconnect between the critical acclaim and the industry's apprehension towards AI-assisted creative work. When revealing the AI's involvement to agents and publishers, the author reported that they would "vanish," indicating a fear of public backlash against AI. This fear, the author suggests, makes an "honest" author who uses AI a liability, even when the underlying stories are truthful and the work is considered human.

Despite this apprehension, the publishing industry is actively exploring and integrating AI into its operations. At a recent awards conference in Portland, AI workshops were reportedly standing room only. Major publishers are experimenting with AI in various capacities. Simon & Schuster's Dutch division is trialing AI for novel translations into English. Amazon is beta-testing an AI voice studio within its Kindle Direct Publishing platform. HarperCollins is producing audiobooks with synthetic voices and has licensed part of its nonfiction backlist as AI training data, reportedly for Microsoft. Bloomsbury notably used an AI-generated stock image for a Sarah J. Maas cover, highlighting the growing, albeit controversial, adoption of AI in book production.