Two of New Zealand’s best-known writers have been disqualified from consideration for the country’s premier literary prize after organisers discovered their book jackets used images generated with artificial intelligence.
Stephanie Johnson’s short story collection Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither’s novella Angel Train were entered for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, the top fiction award run by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust as part of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.
According to RNZ, the organisers were alerted by a bookseller who spotted what they believed to be AI imagery on the submitted covers. After the publisher confirmed that the covers did indeed contain elements generated with AI, the books were removed from eligibility for the 2026 awards. Both books were published by Quentin Wilson Publishing, an independent house in Christchurch.
The award is announced annually in May and currently carries a value of NZ$65,000 (£27,920).
The New Zealand Book Awards Trust introduced a new rule in August stating that any book entered for the Ockham awards must not contain AI material of any kind. This applies not only to the writing but every visual element, including the jacket artwork, illustrations, or any decorative imagery.
The publisher said the book covers were submitted before the rule was announced in August.
“It was, therefore, far too late for any publisher to have taken this clause into account in their design briefs,” Wilson told The Guardian.
“It is obviously heartbreaking that two wonderful pieces of fiction by highly respected authors have become embroiled in this issue, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with their writing.”
Johnson said that she did not realise the artwork on Obligate Carnivore contained AI material. The author told RNZ that she usually did not involve herself with the covers, but had suggested a “wicked-looking cat with fake teeth”.
“I just thought it was a photograph of a real cat and the teeth had been superimposed, but apparently it wasn’t,” she told The Guardian.
“Instead of talking about my book…and what the inspiration was, we are talking about bloody AI, which I hate.”
In a longer statement to news outlet Newsroom, she described her disqualification as “ironic”, considering her “distrust and dislike of AI in the creative sphere”. “I have never used it in my writing process and never will,” she said.
Smither said she was concerned the work of designers was being “disrespected”. The designers who worked on her cover had spent hours on it, she added. “It is them I am most concerned about: that their meticulous work is being disrespected.”
New Zealand Book Awards Trust chairperson Nicola Legat said they held consultations before introducing the new rule.
“The trust does not take lightly a decision that prevents the latest works of two of New Zealand's most esteemed writers from being considered for the 2026 award,” she told RNZ. “However, the criteria apply to all entrants, regardless of their mana, and must be consistently applied to all.”
“As AI evolves, there may well be a need for the trust to revisit and develop the criteria further.”
Johnson argued with the awards manager, Belinda Cooke, that she had not bothered with the cover when she was a judge in 2023 and was told she should have, and it was included in the guidelines.
The author confirmed that she checked the guidelines and it asked judges to measure the book by “literary merit” as well as “quality of illustration and graphic presentation, production factors including jacket design”.
“As a writer of over 20 books myself, and a voracious fiction reader, I am generally indifferent to covers as I believe most writers are. Very often, the writer has little or nothing to do with the cover, other than to express like or dislike,” she told Newsroom.
“The old adage ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ is of course metaphorical and used to dissuade people from judging others on their appearance. But I do believe it holds true for real books.
“Judges are selected, it seems, on their experience and skill in the literary world, not in the design world. If a fantastic novel or collection of stories has a bad cover, should that affect the judging outcome? I don’t believe so.”
Smither, who was also previously a judge for the awards, told The Guardian that she hadn’t judged based on covers. “The contents and the close reading were everything,” she said.
