{
  "id": 13410673,
  "title": "Dozens of staff at HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette: without author consent, publishers are quietly using AI to make back-cover copy, cover art, more (Adam Morgan/Wired)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/dozens-of-staff-at-harpercollins-simon-schuster-hachette-without",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-10T12:40:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Techmeme",
    "slug": "techmeme",
    "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/book-publishers-are-quietly-using-more-ai-staff-are-revolting/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Dozens of staff at HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette have reported that their publishers are using artificial intelligence (AI) tools without author consent. According to Wired, these tools are being used to generate back-cover copy, cover art, and marketing materials. The staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that executives have directed the use of large language models like Claude and ChatGPT.\n\nThe AI tools are being used for various tasks, including emailing literary agents and writing publicity materials. Some staff have been tasked with discovering new use cases for the AI tools. HarperCollins, for example, purchased licenses for Claude from Anthropic, but initially struggled to implement them.\n\nAt the same time, some authors have faced consequences for allegedly using AI to help write their books. According to an editorial staffer, many cases of AI use by authors have gone unreported.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Wired",
        "title": "Book Publishers Are Quietly Using More AI. Staff Are Revolting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/book-publishers-are-quietly-using-more-ai-staff-are-revolting",
        "published": "2026-10-09T19:28:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}