Barnes & Noble: Head of the bookstore chain has no problem selling AI books

The literary industry is faced with a fundamental question: Should AI be allowed in the creation of books – and if so, to what extent? While some publishers take a strict stance against AI-generated works, others are more open to the technology under certain conditions.

A publisher draws conclusions

The horror novel Shy Girl will be launched in the UK in autumn 2025. In March 2026, however, the Hachette Book Group announced that it would stop sales again. The US edition planned for spring was also canceled. The reason: The author Mia Ballard was accused of using AI when writing. “Hachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling,” said a company spokeswoman. She emphasized that the publisher requires original works from all authors and that the use of AI in the writing process must be disclosed.

An analysis by the detection software Pangram showed that the AI ​​share could be up to 78 percent. Ballard himself denies having used AI. Instead, an editor commissioned by her would have subsequently edited the book using AI. Shy Girl is one of the first examples of a major publisher withdrawing a book contract due to AI use. However, not everyone is so critical of the use of AI in literature. James Daunt, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, one of the largest bookstore chains in the United States, said in an NBC interview that he has no problem selling AI-generated books under certain conditions.

Barnes & Noble is open to AI

As NBC reports, Daunt took over the reins of Barnes & Noble in 2019 as the chain struggled to stay competitive. Founded in New York City in 1917, the company was worth $2.2 billion at the height of its success – but in 2019 it was on the verge of bankruptcy. It has since recovered: 67 new branches will have been opened by 2025, with another 60 being added in 2026. When asked if he was willing to sell AI books, Daunt replied: “Yes, I actually have no problem selling any book as long as it doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t and as long as it has an essential quality and the customers, the readers, want it.”

Despite his openness to the new technology, the CEO of Barnes & Noble also attaches a condition to the publication of AI books. He says these should not be copied by anyone or pretended to have been written by a human being. “As long as that is clearly stated and customers want to buy it, we will carry it,” Daunt said. He also admitted that Barnes & Noble, with its 300,000 titles in its inventory, probably already carries AI-generated books, but that they are “not really aware of it.”

AI is becoming a standard tool

Authors are likely to have mixed feelings about this development. On the one hand, AI models were trained on texts that many consider stolen. The authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson accused Anthropic of illegally using books to train models and filed a class action lawsuit. As it became known at the end of August 2025, the AI ​​company agreed with the plaintiffs on a settlement totaling $1.5 billion.

At the same time, many authors use AI themselves. According to a survey by the self-publishing service provider BoD, 52 percent of authors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland now use AI tools such as ChatGPT for writing projects – in 2024 it was still around a third. The technology is most often used for research. Some are particularly productive: the author, who publishes under the pseudonym Coral Hart, says she publishes up to 200 books per year with the help of AI.