The British publisher Bloomsbury, known for its association with the Harry Potter series, has reiterated its opposition to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for writing books, despite the technology’s growing presence in the literary industry. Nigel Newton, founder and executive chairman of Bloomsbury Publishing, acknowledged the challenges in detecting AI-generated texts as the technology becomes increasingly sophisticated but emphasized that the company does not want its titles created by AI.
Newton highlighted that while AI can serve as a valuable tool for research, the creative process remains fundamentally a human endeavour. He said editors act as the company’s first line of defence in identifying AI-written content, but no foolproof methods currently exist. “At the end of the day it’s down to our authors wanting to tell a story they are passionate about,” Newton said, warning that authors risk damaging their reputations if accused of plagiarism through AI or other methods.
The statement comes amid rising controversies over the role of AI in literature. This week saw the launch of the Prix Pascal de Littérature IA, an award recognizing fiction works co-created by human authors and AI agents. The prize pays homage to Blaise Pascal, credited with inventing the first mechanical calculator. The move follows allegations that AI technology has been used to generate works submitted to prominent literary contests earlier this year, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Bloomsbury is also involved in a major copyright dispute related to AI training. In July, the publisher disclosed it would share in a $1.5 billion settlement with Anthropic, the U.S.-based company behind the Claude chatbot. The settlement addressed claims that Anthropic used copyrighted books, including over 14,000 titles from Bloomsbury, to train its AI models without obtaining rights. This payment, reportedly the largest copyright payout in U.S. history, amounts to approximately $3,000 per title. Bloomsbury is currently processing its claims arising from the settlement.
As part of its role in American and UK publishers’ associations, Bloomsbury is also actively pursuing other major technology firms over similar concerns regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted material for AI development. Newton remarked that licensing costs for training data, while significant, remain relatively small compared to the scale at which tech companies operate.
Regarding the future integration of AI in publishing, Newton expressed skepticism that the industry will inevitably embrace AI-generated fiction or non-fiction works.
Newton, who famously signed J.K. Rowling for the first Harry Potter books in 1996, stepped down as chief executive earlier this year to become executive chairman, a position he plans to hold until 2031. He noted that Bloomsbury continuously evaluates candidates for a new chief executive but has not initiated a formal hiring process.
Financially, Bloomsbury reported first-half revenue of £152 million and pre-tax profit of £9.3 million, down from £160 million and £18.3 million respectively during the same period last year. However, the company maintained its forecast for record profits in 2026, supported by upcoming releases including two novels by Sarah J. Maas and a new entry in Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series.
Newton also expressed optimism about the potential impact of HBO’s Harry Potter television adaptation, set to debut on Christmas Day, anticipating it could introduce the franchise to new generations of readers. Bloomsbury’s shares closed recently at 655p, down 2.5 percent.