A story widely accused on social media of being written using AI has gone on to win the overall Commonwealth short story prize.<\/p>\n
Jamir Nazir\u2019s story The Serpent in the Grove<\/a> went viral after being named as a regional winner in mid-May, with critics on X and Bluesky claiming<\/a> it showed \u201cobvious markers\u201d of AI use. The literary magazine Granta subsequently pulled out<\/a> of its long-running agreement to publish the Commonwealth winners.<\/p>\n In the wake of the controversy, the Commonwealth Foundation conducted a review<\/a> of the regional winners, which it said involved looking at drafts, time-stamped documents and notes. \u201cWe are satisfied with the testimonies of our writers and their confirmation that AI was not used in their writing,\u201d said foundation director-general Razmi Farook.<\/p>\n Nazir will receive an additional \u00a32,500 on top of the \u00a32,500 he won for being named the Caribbean winner last month. Judging chair Louise Doughty described Nazir\u2019s piece as \u201can original, poetic and deeply moving story\u201d.<\/p>\n The story includes multiple \u201cnot x, but y\u201d constructions and lists of three, which some consider to be signs of AI use. Critics also drew attention to particular lines, including: \u201cSun on galvanise is a cruel instrument\u201d; \u201cShe had the kind of walking that made benches become men\u201d; and \u201cMarsha lived two bends down \u2026 [she was] big in the way of women who never apologise to furniture\u201d.<\/p>\n In a film<\/a> released by the Commonwealth Foundation on Tuesday, Nazir says that VS Naipaul and Derek Walcott had been significant influences on him. He adds that he wrote six or seven drafts of his prize-winning story, and also speaks about his use of speech-to-text software, explaining that he could only see three or four lines of text on his phone screen at any one time, so he would perfect each line before moving on, which is how his story ended up being \u201chighly polished\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis story began in my childhood in rural Trinidad,\u201d he said on the inspiration behind his story. \u201cEach day, I walked to school past rum shops where cane workers and labourers gathered. I remember the voices, the laughter, the arguments and conversations that shaped village life.\u201d<\/p>\n Initial social media reactions to the Commonwealth Foundation\u2019s announcement of Nazir\u2019s win were negative, with one X user<\/a> writing: \u201cimmensely disappointing and disheartening. it feels like they wanted to stick to their guns after the entire GenAI uproar. I might think twice now before submitting my stories here\u201d.<\/p>\n