Granta Ends External Publishing After AI Controversy Over Commonwealth Prize

Granta, the prominent literary magazine, will no longer publish winning entries of the Commonwealth short story prize following controversy over alleged AI use in one of this year's winning stories. The magazine announced it would cease all "external publishing partnerships" where it lacked editorial control, citing the need to protect its editorial integrity. The decision came after the Caribbean regional winner, "The Serpent in the Grove" by Jamir Nazir, drew accusations on X and Bluesky in mid-May of containing "obvious markers" of AI-generated writing, including triadic structures and "not x, but y" constructions. Nazir defended his process, explaining he uses speech-to-text on an Android phone due to chronic health conditions. Granta publisher Sigrid Rausing stated on May 19 that the prize may have been awarded to "an instance of AI plagiarism." The Commonwealth Foundation director general Razmi Farook countered that all shortlisted writers denied AI use. The prize awards £5,000 to the overall winner and £2,500 to regional winners; the Sigrid Rausing Trust had awarded £30,000 to the prize between 2014 and 2016. Granta will keep the shortlisted stories on its website in the public interest.