France launches literary prize for books co-written with AI
- Pascal Prize invites French-language fiction created through human-AI collaboration, offering publication, promotion to winning author
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- Pascal Prize invites French-language fiction created through human-AI collaboration, offering publication, promotion to winning author
By Halis Sunnetci
ISTANBUL (AA) - A new literary prize was launched in France on Tuesday to recognize fiction co-written by humans and artificial intelligence, with the winning work set to be published and promoted, organizers said.
The Pascal Prize for AI Literature invites writers worldwide to submit unpublished French-language works created in collaboration with one or more AI systems.
Organizers said the award aims to recognize human creativity through new approaches to writing, with entries judged on literary quality rather than the technology used.
"AI is already present in writing workshops, in manuscripts, in bookstores, often silently," the organizers said in their announcement.
"The Pascal Prize raises the question aloud: what is a work of art when the author and the machine collaborate?"
The prize is named after 17th-century French mathematician, philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal, who invented one of the earliest mechanical calculators.
The competition is open to applicants regardless of nationality, residence or previous literary experience.
Entrants must submit an unpublished, anonymous manuscript alongside a description of their original idea and a technical dossier detailing the AI tools, prompts and methods used.
Applications close Nov. 30, with 10 works to be shortlisted before the winner is announced in early December.
The winning work will be published and supported by a promotional media campaign, according to the organizers.
- AI controversy in literary prizes
The award comes amid debate over generative AI in literature following controversies involving established literary competitions.
In September, France's Prix Goncourt removed Haitian-Canadian writer Thelyson Orelien's novel C’etait ca ou mourir from its longlist amid allegations of AI-generated writing and plagiarism involving his earlier works.
The Academie Goncourt cited analyses suggesting the novel was largely AI-generated and said the decision was intended to protect the prize's integrity.
Orelien denied using AI to write the book.
Earlier in October, Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza also denied allegations that he had used AI to write his short story The Blue Fighter, which won the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing.
The allegations followed an analysis cited by The Atlantic suggesting that most of the story was AI-generated.
The Caine Prize organization said it was reviewing the matter but had not withdrawn the award.
The controversies have raised questions about literary originality, the reliability of AI detection tools and whether authors should disclose their use of artificial intelligence.
Halis Sünnetci