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AI-generated fiction

ended 23. September 2025

There are growing concerns that AI could kill off fiction as we know it given its ability to generate whole worlds, plots and narrative threads within minutes, if not seconds. Lord of the Rings sequel? Gimme 3, please. Keen to know from everyone and anyone whether you would feel different about reading an AI-generated book or if you wouldn't care if it was a great read. Would it take away the emotional experience of reading great fiction, and your connection to the real-world author? Also keen to know from publishers and AI experts whether fiction as we know it is under threat and should fiction writers be concerned about the ability of AI to further reduce their chances of being published?

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Mitali Deypurkaystha
AI Governance Strategist & CMO at AISensa
In my previous role as a publisher of over sixty thought leaders, I’ve never seen AI as a threat, because you can’t automate a human’s scars, values or mission. But fiction? AI can already conjure entire worlds in seconds. The question is: does it matter? Are we about to curl up with synthetic dreams instead of human stories? Or will the soul of fiction always belong to the messy, brilliant imagination of people? Some will say a good story is a good story, regardless of who, or what, wrote it. But for many, the magic of fiction is the heartbeat behind the words. Readers don’t just consume a plot; they crave the human experience, the lived imagination, the messy brilliance only an author brings. That’s why AI is a ghost in the library. It's capable of producing endless tales, but always misses the soul. The risk isn’t that AI kills fiction. It’s that we forget why human stories mattered in the first place.
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Naina Clayton
Founder at Sandwoman Business Support
Personally, I would not want to read an AI-generated book. AI cannot write in a human, heartfelt way. When reading books written by real authors, you can tell by the way they reference the home towns or locations they know that they have genuinely been there. Also their own personal feelings, thoughts and experiences are in their books, which is really important. That's something AI cannot replicate.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
Reading AI fiction is like buying a show home. Everything looks right until you realize it lacks the character quirks and imperfections that make a house a home.

Fiction writers should worry less about AI competition and more about maintaining their irreplaceable human edge. Algorithms can mimic patterns but cannot replicate the authentic voice that emerges from genuine experience, struggle, and insight. The future belongs to authors who offer something machines fundamentally cannot. Authentic humanity.
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Clive Bonny
MD at Strategic Management Partners
All published authors are at risk of Ai scooping and sharing author content. Explicit designation of IP protection helps. Authors need to clarify IP ownership with clearly marked © Copyright and ® Registered Trademarks and Designs. Authors should include a clear statement that infringements can result in legal action and that Registered trademark and design infringements can result in criminal prosecutions.
Published statistics show alarming risks for content developers. UK employs over one million persons involved in the creative industries with over £100 billion annual revenues at stake. Over 95% of content authors are small enterprises yet less than 5% register their IP. One in three suffers infringement losses. Book copycats are now scooping book titles and front covers to sell online. UK IPO Design registration fees start at £50 and trademarked titles cost £170 so protection is affordable. Act now before your content is compromised
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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
Fiction isn't under threat from AI creativity. It's drowning in AI-generated slop. Good AI enhances early feedback, weaving in reader preferences. Continuity across a six-book series is no longer an editorial nightmare. Blurbs can punch harder with iterations taking seconds. Bad AI trains on illegal titles. Anthropic is facing a lawsuit over its use of millions of 'pirated' books, which highlights the debate over whether these systems are built on theft or innovation. Today the same AI tools power self-publishing SaaS services, which can slide identical character names into similar genres. A multi-million selling thriller author was accused of lifting verbatim paragraphs, with angry readers highlighting the passages in forums. Trad publishers are concerned about their authors drowning in derivative content. Look at the "Richard Osman" crime clones fighting for attention. The model sells, and AI clones quickly saturate the charts. Like all tools, AI can either boost quality or kill it.
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John McCrea
Blogger at Tales from Absurdia
As a book blogger and critic, I would never knowingly read, review, or share AI-generated work with my audience.

Commercially, there is no demand for it. Literary agents are already inundated with submissions. It makes zero sense from a supply and demand point of view.

Ethically, it's problematic with so many people harbouring hopes, dreams, and a beautiful story to tell.

And that's before you consider the fact that AI-generated writing is almost universally terrible.

Happy to discuss further, from a book influencer perspective.