Mexican publisher Almadía upheld the novel prize awarded to Peru’s David Silva Rojas after examining allegations of AI-generated writing. The publisher says its review considered the author’s working materials and consultations with specialists. Jury members backed the decision, following an October controversy that interrupted the author’s promotional tour in Spain.
Mexican publisher Almadía upheld the novel prize awarded to Peruvian writer David Silva Rojas after reviewing allegations of generative-AI use in Donde el agua trabaja. The November 6 announcement concluded the review begun in October. The original award had been announced on July 29.[1], [2]
Almadía says it examined materials supplied by Silva about the writing process and their relationship to the novel. It says he answered questions and provided the information requested. The publisher consulted technology, legal and linguistic specialists, describing its judgment as a human assessment of the information as a whole.[1]
Jury members Cristina Rivera Garza, Mónica Ojeda and Selva Almada signed the statement alongside the publisher and Sociedad Ventosa Arrufat, the prize’s co-organizer. They reaffirmed the independence of the literary judgment made after reading the competing works.[1]
The dispute followed an October 23 El País article alleging extensive AI-generated text, citing the Pangram detection tool. Almadía suspended the author’s Spanish tour that day. It now says that step was meant to protect him from book events becoming interrogations. The publisher disputes treating a detector’s output as sufficient proof of authorship and has requested an apology from the newspaper.[1]
