AI Allegations Surround a Buzzy New Book

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Even Major Publishers Get Tripped Up By A.I.

Remember how we were talking about the rise in books published in the U.S., and how self-published books have a lot to do with that increase? Well, we didn’t talk about how the rise in A.I. also plays into the self-publishing boom. If you browse books on Amazon, you’ve likely come across A.I. slop titles. Sometimes it’s easy to tell when you’re looking at these works, and sometimes the clues are more subtle, as they might have been for Hachette. In a piece written for The New York Times, Alexandra Alter reports on how the Big 5 publisher scooped up a buzzy self-published horror novel that is now facing allegations of being largely A.I.-generated or assisted. Hachette had already released the novel in the U.K. but will discontinue that edition and has scrapped the planned U.S. release. In an email to the Times, the book’s author, Mia Ballard, claimed an acquaintance used A.I. to edit Shy Girl. Whoof. If ever I read a nightmare publishing story for our times… The piece goes on to explore the challenges all of publishing faces in the era of A.I. novelists and is worth a full read.

The Finalists for a Literary Award Judged By Incarcerated People

The Inside Literary Prize is the first major U.S. book award to be judged by people who are serving prison sentences, and this year’s award has its shortlist. Hundreds of people currently incarcerated in 12 prisons across six states will judge five National Book Award-honored titles to choose a winner. The 2026 Inside Literary Prize finalists are:

• Aednan by Linnea Axelsson, translated by Saskia Vogel
• All Fours by Miranda July
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• My Friends by Hisham Matar
• The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain

I love Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s quote on winning the 2025 Prize for Chain-Gang All-Stars:

There is no question that this is the highest possible honor a book like this could ever receive. I take it to mean those who judged believed I was not careless or callous, that I used language in a way that felt like truth. This retroactive mandate is a gift I can never repay, but one I will forever be grateful for. I want to thank all those Inside, those who judged and those who did not. This award is dedicated to you all.

New Victor LaValle Adaptation Incoming!

Victor LaValle’s adaptation catalog is growing. A series adaptation of The Devil in Silver is coming to AMC+ and Shudder, with LaValle writing and showrunning alongside Chris Cantwell (Halt and Catch Fire). This new installment of anthology series The Terror follows a working class man committed to a psychiatric hospital where the devil himself might reside. The six-episode limited series is executive produced by Ridley Scott. Of working with LaValle and adapting his work, Cantwell said, “Working shoulder to shoulder with Victor LaValle to bring his masterful novel to the screen has been an incredible experience, as his story is, yes—packed with death and horror—but also brimming with beauty and the flickering-yet-unassailable light of our fragile humanity.”

First-look image of The Terror: Devil in Silver, courtesy of AMC Networks

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

We’ve got this week’s most read books over at Goodreads, the titles getting the most attention from Storygraph users, plus two new books out this week that we think you should know about. Enjoy browsing some of the week’s new and popular books.