A multi-million dollar publishing deal for Jerry Falade's debut crime novel, Call Me, I'll Hide the Body, collapsed on July 31, 2026.
Publishers and agents raised concerns about potential artificial intelligence involvement in the drafting process.
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The manuscript had attracted bids exceeding $2 million from Macmillan US imprint Minotaur, along with several six-figure international offers.
Film and television studios had already begun competing for adaptation rights.
Concerns surfaced after an editor noticed signs of AI use. Agents withdrew the manuscript due to copyright and authenticity issues.
The author's literary agents issued a formal statement explaining their decision to retract the book after losing the ability to authenticate its development history.
"Jerry Falade produced an incredible manuscript that dazzled us and the top publishing professionals around the world.
Unfortunately, we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion," said Sandy Hodgman, independent agent at Hodgman Literary.
The agency clarified that initial assurances regarding the writing process could no longer be verified prior to pulling the manuscript from market consideration entirely.
"During the submission process we vetted the manuscript with Jerry for AI and felt trusting in his reassurance that it was written without utilising AI as a resource in the writing or editorial process.
We can no longer substantiate that, and we are withdrawing the book," said Sandy Hodgman.
Europa Content agent Marc Gerald noted that he initially read the manuscript in June before doubts emerged during submission.
