The announcement comes after a New York Times review found evidence that Mia Ballard used AI to write her novel “Shy Girl.” The book, which has already been published in the UK, will now be withdrawn there as well.
Ballard denies using AI, but admits that an “acquaintance” she hired to edit the book used the technology. The author self-published the book in February 2025 and received good reviews on several online sites before it was picked up by Hachette.
Several readers raised the alarm that many passages in the book were illogical and seemed to have been created by AI, the New York Times writes.
