Barnes & Noble was turning a page on the chainโs history of declining sales, but recent comments have stirred bad blood for the bookseller.
James Daunt, the chief executive credited with breathing new life into the retailer, is clarifying the storeโs stance on stocking its shelves with AI-generated books, saying its not true that heโs embracing books authored by AI.
The controversy stems from Dauntโs Monday appearance on โTodayโ with Jenna Bush Hager. In a viral clip from the interview, Daunt said, โI have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesnโt masquerade or pretend to be something that it isnโt. So, as long as an AI-written book says itโs an AI-written book, then we will stock them.โ
By Wednesday, thousands of calls to boycott the bookseller had flooded social media.
Kathlin Finn, a writer and former employee of the chain, posted on social media, writing, โHey Barnes & Not Noble, I worked for you and have supported you, but your latest AI decision is extremely disappointing. I will not be shopping or promoting B&N unless you change your AI policy.โ
Author Cristin Bishara wrote, โAs an author this [is] the most depressing news. Iโve been saying for a long time that this was coming. People told me I was overreacting. And I had a feeling it would start with a cute round table at the front of a B&N.โ
Another social media user added, โThe Barnes & Noble CEO saying theyโll stock AI generated books as long as theyโre labeled and arenโt โripping off somebody elseโ is wild considering all generative AI is ripping off someone else.โ
Daunt told The Times that the wave of backlash is based on misinterpretations of what he said, and that only a โhighly edited versionโ of what the bookseller โactually saidโ had been aired.
In an emailed statement, he said the bookseller does not sell AI books, โas far as we are aware.โ Barnes & Noble โdemand[s] that publishers label any books that are AI generated,โ and the chain takes โactive measures to exclude all AI generated books.โ
Daunt further stated that Barnes & Noble โwill sell AI generated books if there is clear demandโ and not โban reputable books published by reputable publishers, even if AI generated, should these be published, labeled and there be clear evidence of customer demand.โ
He also said that the retailer thinks itโs โvery unlikelyโ that there will be customer demand for AI-generated books or that reputable publishers will publish them.
โThe argument is nuanced, and perhaps over nuanced, but there are important principles that have to be balanced and I believe we do so as sensibly and thoughtfully as is possible,โ he said. โBook banning is a clear and present danger, so we are very careful with demands to ban any booksโ while also remaining vigilant โnot to sell AI generated books that masquerade to be by real authors.โ
Last year, Daunt spoke with BBC on the issue of AI in publishing and bookselling and said that thereโs a huge proliferation of AI-generated content, and โmost of it is not books that we should be selling.โ He told the broadcaster that, as a bookseller, the company sells what publishers publish and that heโd be surprised by efforts to put forth an โAI-generated piece of nonsenseโ but that, ultimately, the decision on reading material would lie with the reader.
โWe donโt dictate, and we donโt dictate around politics or any other particular issues around books,โ he said. โWe leave it up to the reader to decide.โ
In June 2025, more than 70 authors issued a call to action to big-five publishers Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan, asking the companies to pledge that they will never release books that were created by machines. Authors Lauren Groff, R.F. Kuang, Emma Straub and Emily Henry were among the petitioners.
โAt its simplest level, our job as artists is to respond to the human experience. But the art we make is a commodity, and our world wants things quickly, cheaply, and on demand,โ the letter read.
โWe are rushing toward a future where our novels, our biographies, our poems and our memoirs โ our records of the human experience โ are โwrittenโ by artificial intelligence models that, by definition, cannot know what it is to be human. To bleed, or starve, or love. …
โEvery time a prompt is entered into AI, the language that bot uses to respond was created in part through the synthesis of art that we, the undersigned, have spent our careers crafting. Taken without our consent, without payment, without even the courtesy of acknowledgment.โ
In March, Hachette pulled โShy Girlโ from publication after widespread allegations that the horror novel appeared to be AI-generated and was swiftly scrubbed from Amazon and the Hachette website. The bookโs author, Mia Ballard, denied that she had relied on AI to pen the book but said an acquaintance she had hired to edit the novel used AI.
โHachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling,โ a Hachette spokeswoman said, per the New York Times.