Commonwealth Prize Winner Denies AI Use, Explains Speech-to-Text Process

Trinidadian writer Jamir Nazir, 62, won the 2026 Commonwealth Prize for his short story "The Serpent in the Grove," despite widespread accusations that it was AI-generated. The story, published in Granta, was flagged as 100% artificial by the AI-detection tool Pangram. After an investigation, the Commonwealth Foundation cleared Nazir and other regional winners, stating they were satisfied AI was not used. Nazir attributed the unusual prose to his use of Google Keyboard's speech-to-text function on an Android phone, due to diabetes-related neuropathy. He provided drafts and character profiles to the foundation. Nazir cited Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, and Derek Walcott as inspirations but could not name a specific Walcott work, blaming chemotherapy-induced brain fog. He expressed relief at winning, sharing the news with his 82-year-old mother. Nazir predicted AI will eventually be accepted as a writing tool, like typewriters and word processors, but advised writers to avoid it in competitions for now. The controversy sparked broader scrutiny of other winners' stories.