{
  "id": 16378781,
  "title": "Authors paid hundreds to publish their books, but allege 'crap' service and AI art",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/authors-paid-hundreds-to-publish-their-books-but-allege-crap-service",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-24T21:29:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-25/patrick-white-publishing-authors-unhappy-service-ai-art/107255794"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Patrick White Publishing, a company offering publishing services, stands accused of poor quality service, aggressive tactics against negative reviews, and charging authors hundreds of dollars for AI-generated illustrations. The company's Australian Business Number is falsely linked to an unrelated business. The literary estate of late Australian author Patrick White has requested the company cease using his name. Authors who have dealt with Patrick White Publishing report issues such as being pressured into removing negative comments, being charged for subpar editing, and being misled about the costs involved. One author, Kerry Stewart, claimed she was deceived into signing with the company due to glowing online reviews, only to find the service lacking. She paid $500 for a service that allegedly did not enhance her manuscript. Patrick White Publishing has been known to use AI-generated images for book covers, a practice that Amazon requires authors to disclose. The company has also been accused of using AI-generated text, with some book covers displaying AI-generated watermarks.",
  "summary": "Despite positive online reviews, authors have accused Patrick White Publishing of poor quality service and pushing them into removing negative comments.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}