The prominent literary magazine Granta has announced it will no longer publish the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth short story prize, following controversy over one of this year's winners that drew widespread accusations of AI use.
Granta Ends External Publishing Partnerships
The magazine stated it would no longer be involved in "external publishing partnerships" where it had no editorial control. In a statement to the Guardian, Granta explained: "The 2026 selection of the regional winners of the Commonwealth prize caused a great deal of controversy, based on the speculation that one or more of the stories may have been at least partially AI-generated, accusations that were strongly rejected by the authors."
"For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships. We will keep the Commonwealth prize shortlisted stories on our website in the public interest, and wish our former partner, the Commonwealth Foundation, all the best in its work."
The Controversial Story
This year's winning story from the Caribbean region, The Serpent in the Grove by Jamir Nazir, began to draw attention on social media platforms X and Bluesky in mid-May. Critics claimed the story had "obvious markers" of AI-generated writing, including items arranged in threes and "not x, but y" constructions. Phrases such as "Sun on galvanise is a cruel instrument" and "She had the kind of walking that made benches become men" were also highlighted.
In response, Nazir told the Observer via email in late May: "My writing process is unusual. It is conducted entirely on an Android phone. This is a necessity driven by chronic health conditions which make sustained, desk-bound typing physically impossible. That is why I rely on speech-to-text to do my writing, followed by minimal keyboard editing, along with the same process of speech-to-text. I have used this in my professional life and also to produce my story for the Commonwealth competition."
Reactions from Publishers and Foundation
Granta publisher and philanthropist Sigrid Rausing released a statement on 19 May in response to the controversy: "It may be that the judges have now awarded a prize to an instance of AI plagiarism – we don't yet know, and perhaps we never will know."
The same day, Commonwealth Foundation director general Razmi Farook stated: "All shortlisted writers have personally stated that no AI was used and, upon further consultation, the foundation has confirmed this."
Prize Details and Background
The Commonwealth short story prize awards £5,000 to an overall winner and £2,500 to regional winners. According to the Sigrid Rausing Trust website, the trust awarded £30,000 to the Commonwealth short story prize between 2014 and 2016. The Commonwealth prize did not respond to a request for comment.
