Two books with AI-generated covers have been disqualified from New Zealand's top book prize.

Somewhere on the goofy/sad spectrum in AI slop news, today two novels up for the prestigious Ockham New Zealand Book Award were disqualified on the basis of their AI cover art.

Obligate Carnivore, a story collection by Stephanie Johnson, and Angel Train, four linked novellas by Elizabeth Smither, have been judged by their covers and subsequently eliminated from competition. A trusty bookseller raised the flag.

The authors claimed to have no knowledge of their mutual publisher’s use of AI design tools. And in an O’Henry twist, the contest recently changed its policies to reflect our changing hellscape. (Sorry, landscape.)

Ockham Award administrations altered their regulations around generative AI use in August. As Nicola Legat, the chair of the book awards’ trust, told The Guardian, the prize now takes a “firm stance on the use of AI in books.” That’s inside and out.

Unfortunately, the new mandate came too late for some publishers. Like Quentin Wilson, the man behind both contested works.

Prize submissions were due in October. And according to Mr. Wilson, certain books were too far down the design pipeline to change course between rule change and deadline. Both Obligate Carnivore and Angel Train were published in November.

How did AI enter the mix in the first place? Wilson works with Sugarcube Studios, the design firm behind both covers in question. Designers there told the The New York Times via statement that they see generative AI “not as a replacement for creativity but as a natural extension of our craft.” Which, okay.

The whole skirmish is obscuring the insides of both collections—which AI covers tend to do. But both authors have been quick to distinguish form from content.

Ms. Johnson told the Times that she did not use AI in her writing, and never would. She also called for regulation in the rapidly changing industry: “All of us around the world who work in the creative sphere are concerned about the rise of AI, so I absolutely understand that the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards people were compelled to draw a line in the sand.”

But she’s frustrated and sad at the same time. As Johnson told The Guardian, authors typically have very little power over their cover art. And it smarts to see the conversation around one’s book become dominated by the slop machine.

The Ockham Award is worth about $65,000. It’s one of New Zealand’s premier literary honors, recognizing fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and debut authors.