Publisher cancels horror novel's release over AI claims By Paul Glynn Shy Girl was originally self-published in February 2025, then got a full UK release inNovember. The US release of a horror novel has been cancelled by its publisher over concerns that AIwas used to help write it. Shy Girl by US author Mia Ballard had been scheduled for publication in the US next month,but that will no longer go ahead, publisher Hachette said. The UK version, which was released inNovember, will also be discontinued. A spokesperson for Hachette told BBC News the company “remains committed to protectingoriginal creative expression and storytelling”. Ballard, who sold almost 2,000 copies of the book in the UK, has denied using AI to writethe book—telling the New York Times an acquaintance she hired to edit the original self-publishedversion of the novel had used AI. “This controversy has changed my life in many ways and my mental health is at an all timelow and my name is ruined for something I didn't even personally do,” she said, noting she waspursuing legal action. The New York Times, which first reported the story, said it “appears to be the firstcommercial novel from a major publishing house to be pulled over evidence of AI use”. The publisher said: “Hachette remains committed to protecting original creative expressionand storytelling”. “Orbit (in the US) will not publish Shy Girl, and Wildfire (in the UK) have decided to nolonger continue publishing their edition,” it added, referring to its imprints. Originally self-published last February, Shy Girl was described in its promotional materialas a “buzzy¹ BookTok sensation” and “a harrowing tale of survival and revenge” and well asbeing “bloody and unapologetic”. However, one reviewer on the GoodReads website claimed the book appeared to be “writtenby ChatGPT”, while another noted the “bizarre formatting, typos and repetitive turns of phrase”. BBC News has approached Ballard for further comment.¹Buzzy (adj.): Something that is buzzy is getting a lot of attention and excitement, especially online. People are talking about it a lot, and it is popular right now.(Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9d44jj24o – text specially adapted for this test). In the promotional material, the novel is described as a “harrowing tale of survival and revenge” (l. 23). Based on the context of the story and its genre, the underlined word “harrowing” is closest in meaning to:

In the promotional material, the novel is described as a...

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Publisher cancels horror novel's release over AI claims

By Paul Glynn

Shy Girl was originally self-published in February 2025, then got a full UK release in
November.
The US release of a horror novel has been cancelled by its publisher over concerns that AI
was used to help write it.
Shy Girl by US author Mia Ballard had been scheduled for publication in the US next month,
but that will no longer go ahead, publisher Hachette said. The UK version, which was released in
November, will also be discontinued.
A spokesperson for Hachette told BBC News the company “remains committed to protecting
original creative expression and storytelling”.
Ballard, who sold almost 2,000 copies of the book in the UK, has denied using AI to write
the book—telling the New York Times an acquaintance she hired to edit the original self-published
version of the novel had used AI.
“This controversy has changed my life in many ways and my mental health is at an all time
low and my name is ruined for something I didn't even personally do,” she said, noting she was
pursuing legal action.
The New York Times, which first reported the story, said it “appears to be the first
commercial novel from a major publishing house to be pulled over evidence of AI use”.
The publisher said: “Hachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression
and storytelling”.
“Orbit (in the US) will not publish Shy Girl, and Wildfire (in the UK) have decided to no
longer continue publishing their edition,” it added, referring to its imprints.
Originally self-published last February, Shy Girl was described in its promotional material
as a “buzzy¹ BookTok sensation” and “a harrowing tale of survival and revenge” and well as
being “bloody and unapologetic”.
However, one reviewer on the GoodReads website claimed the book appeared to be “written
by ChatGPT”, while another noted the “bizarre formatting, typos and repetitive turns of phrase”.
BBC News has approached Ballard for further comment.

¹Buzzy (adj.): Something that is buzzy is getting a lot of attention and excitement, especially online. People are talking about it a lot, and it is popular right now.

(Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9d44jj24o – text specially adapted for this test).

In the promotional material, the novel is described as a “harrowing tale of survival and revenge” (l. 23). Based on the context of the story and its genre, the underlined word “harrowing” is closest in meaning to:

Heartwarming and joyful.

Upsetting and scary.

Monotonous and boring.

Amusing and simple.

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