Granta, the prominent literary magazine, has announced it will cease publishing the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth short story prize following a controversy over alleged AI use in one of this year's winning stories. The magazine stated it would no longer engage in "external publishing partnerships" where it lacks editorial control.
AI accusations spark backlash
The controversy erupted in mid-May when the Caribbean regional winner, "The Serpent in the Grove" by Jamir Nazir, faced accusations on social media platforms X and Bluesky of containing "obvious markers" of AI-generated writing. Critics pointed to stylistic features such as items arranged in threes and "not x, but y" constructions, along with phrases like "Sun on galvanise is a cruel instrument" and "She had the kind of walking that made benches become men."
Nazir defended his work, explaining via email to the Observer that he writes entirely on an Android phone using speech-to-text due to chronic health conditions. He stated, "My writing process is unusual... It is conducted entirely on an Android phone. This is a necessity driven by chronic health conditions which make sustained, desk-bound typing physically impossible."
Granta's decision and statement
In a statement to the Guardian, Granta said: "The 2026 selection of the regional winners of the Commonwealth prize caused a great deal of controversy, based on the speculation that one or more of the stories may have been at least partially AI-generated, accusations that were strongly rejected by the authors." The magazine added, "For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships." Granta will keep the shortlisted stories on its website in the public interest.
Granta publisher and philanthropist Sigrid Rausing had earlier released a statement on 19 May, saying: "It may be that the judges have now awarded a prize to an instance of AI plagiarism – we don’t yet know, and perhaps we never will know."
Commonwealth Foundation response
On the same day, Commonwealth Foundation director general Razmi Farook stated: "All shortlisted writers have personally stated that no AI was used and, upon further consultation, the foundation has confirmed this." The prize awards £5,000 to an overall winner and £2,500 to regional winners. According to the Sigrid Rausing Trust website, the trust awarded £30,000 to the Commonwealth short story prize between 2014 and 2016. The Commonwealth prize did not respond to a request for comment.
