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Two award-winning Kiwi authors have had their works excluded from consideration for the nation's esteemed literature award due to the utilization of AI in designing their book covers.

Exclusion Details

Stephanie Johnson's story compilation "Obligate Carnivore" and the writer's short novel set "Angel Train" were submitted for the 2026 Ockham book awards and its NZ$65,000 fiction award in the tenth month, but were ruled out the following month due to new rules concerning artificial intelligence usage.

The publisher of both books, the publisher, stated that the awards organizers updated the guidelines in August, by which time the covers for all submitted title would have previously been finalized.

“It was, therefore, far too late for any publisher to have taken this clause into account in their design briefs,” Wilson noted.

Writers' Responses

Johnson expressed understanding for the award administrators, saying she shares serious worries about AI in creative industries, but was disappointed by the ruling.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about it,” she remarked. “It’s my 22nd book, and it is my fourth collection of short stories. These stories … were written over a sort of 20 year period, so for me, it’s quite an important book.”

She added that authors usually have minimal involvement in book artwork and was did not know AI had been employed for her book cover, which displays a feline with human teeth.

“I believed it was an actual cat photo with superimposed teeth, but that was not the case,” Johnson explained, adding that unlike more tech-savvy generations, she struggles to identify AI-generated graphics.

Johnson worried that readers might assume she used AI to compose her work, which she emphatically denied.

“Instead of talking about my book … and what the inspiration was, we are talking about bloody AI, which I hate.”

In a comment, Smither said that the designers devoted hours crafting her book's cover, which includes a steam train and an celestial figure “half-obscured in the smoke”, influenced by artist Marc Chagall's figures.

“My primary concern is for the designers: their careful, detailed work … is not being respected,” she remarked.

Prize Trust's Position

Nicola Legat, chair of the award foundation that administers the Ockham awards, affirmed the trust takes a “firm stance on the use of artificial intelligence in publications.”

“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,” Legat said.

“Nevertheless, the rules apply equally to every participant, no matter their standing, and must be enforced uniformly.”

The decision to revise the artificial intelligence guidelines was motivated by a desire to protect the creative and intellectual property interests of the nation's writers and illustrators, she explained.

“As AI evolves, there may well be a need for the trust to revisit and develop the criteria further.”

Industry Reflections

The publisher pointed out that publishers and authors often use tools like grammar checkers and image editors, which utilize artificial intelligence, and this situation underscored the pressing requirement for carefully crafted guidelines.

“Our industry must collaborate to prevent a recurrence of this scenario.”

Both Smither and Stephanie Johnson have previously served as judges for sections of the prizes, and both stressed that cover designs receive little attention during evaluation.

“The contents and the close reading were everything,” the author concluded.

The use of AI in creative fields has encountered increasing scrutiny as the technology progresses, with some organizations developing ways to address its influence.