Nigerian debut author claims racism after $2 million deal halted over AI doubts

Nigerian writer Jerry Falade was on the brink of a $2 million-plus publishing contract for his debut novel after a 14-way auction placed the rights with Minotaur, with a planned 2028 release. His representative, Marc Gerald of Europa Content, abruptly cancelled the deal, stating the agency could no longer confirm the manuscript’s origin and raised concerns about possible AI assistance. Although an editor had initially raised the AI question, Falade refused the accusation and the agency chose not to run a detection test, later citing changes in the story as a reason to pull the book.

Falade publicly accused the industry of racism, noting that three Black authors faced similar contract disruptions while white writers openly discuss AI use without repercussion. He argued that AI detection tools often produce false positives and that the rumors quickly led to his agency’s withdrawal and halted publicity. The incident underscores publishing houses’ worries about copyright ownership when AI-generated content is suspected.