Leading literary magazine Granta will no longer publish the winning entries of the annual Commonwealth Short Story Prize after widespread allegations of the use of AI were made against one of this year’s winners.
The magazine said it would no longer engage in “external publishing partnerships” over which it has no editorial control.
In a statement to the Guardian, Granta said: “The 2026 selection of regional winners of the Commonwealth Prize generated considerable controversy, based on speculation that one or more of the stories may have been at least partly AI-generated, allegations which were strongly rejected by the authors.
“For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust Board has now decided that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships. We will keep Commonwealth Prize shortlisted stories on our website in the public interest, and wish our former partner, the Commonwealth Foundation, the best of luck in its work.”
This year’s winning story from the Caribbean region, snake in the grove By Zamir Nazir, X and Bluesky began to receive attention in mid-May, when critics claimed that the story had “clear markers” of AI-generated writing.
The objects in the story are arranged in three and “not X, but Y” constructions, which some consider to be indicative of the use of AI. Critics also highlighted Phrases such as “The sun on galvanize is a cruel tool” and “His walking ability was such that benches became men”.
“My writing process is unusual”, Nazir told the supervisor Via email in late May. “It is conducted entirely on an Android phone. This is a necessity driven by chronic health conditions that make constant, desk-bound typing physically impossible. That’s why I rely on speech-to-text for my writing, followed by the same process of speech-to-text along with minimal keyboard editing. I’ve also used it in my professional life and to prepare my story for the Commonwealth competition.”
Granta publisher and philanthropist Sigrid Rausing issued a statement on 19 May in response to the controversy: “The judges may have now awarded the prize for an example of AI plagiarism – we don’t know yet, and perhaps we will never know.”
The same day, Razmi Farooq, director general of the Commonwealth Foundation, said: “All shortlisted authors have individually stated that no AI was used and, upon further consultation, the Foundation has confirmed this.”
The awards award £5,000 to the overall winner and £2,500 to regional winners. According to the Sigrid Rausing Trust website, the Trust awards a £30,000 Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2014 and 2016.
Commonwealth Awards did not respond to a request for comment.
