News: Rakuten Kobo Took a "Book Community First" Approach to AI — and Rejected 45 Percent of Submissions
About this episode
Dan Holloway discusses Rakuten Kobo's rejection of 45% of self-published submissions due to suspected AI generation and highlights contrasting approaches to AI detection in publishing.
On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on a revealing piece by Rakuten Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn, who explains why Kobo rejected 45 percent of self-published submissions in 2025 — most of them suspected AI-generated — and frames the decision as a "book community first" choice over a "readers first" approach. Dan also returns to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize controversy, where organizers have taken a strikingly different and very human approach to AI detection: gathering notes, drafts, and timestamped evidence from authors rather than relying on AI detection tools. He closes with news of a BISG and BookNet Canada survey on AI in publishing that indie authors in the US and Canada are encouraged to take part in. Show Notes Book Industry Study Group Survey Sponsor Self-Publishing News is proudly sponsored by PublishMe—helping indie authors succeed globally with expert translation, tailored marketing, and publishing support. From first draft to international launch, PublishMe ensures your book reaches readers everywhere. Visit publishme.me . Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center , with a huge archive of…
People in this episode
Host: Dan Holloway
Topics covered
- self-publishing
- AI in publishing
- book community
- submission rejection
- author evidence
Keywords
- self-publishing
- AI-generated content
- Rakuten Kobo
- submission rejection
- Commonwealth Short Story Prize
- BISG
- BookNet Canada
- PublishMe
Sponsors
PublishMe
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Rakuten Kobo, Commonwealth Short Story Prize, BISG, BookNet Canada
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