Hachette Cancels Shy Girl Across Both Orbit and Wildfire — The Big Five's First Full AI Cancellation

Hachette Book Group has cancelled Mia Ballard's horror novel Shy Girl across both its US imprint Orbit and its UK imprint Wildfire, following a New York Times investigation that presented evidence of AI-generated text. The book — originally self-published in February 2025 and acquired after going viral on TikTok — was found by AI detection firm Pangram to be 78% AI-generated. Ballard denies personally using AI, claiming an editor she hired for formatting may have introduced the content without her knowledge. The book had sold approximately 1,800–2,000 copies in the UK before being pulled.