John Grisham told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Tuesday that he fears AI could eventually write books well enough to replace human authors, as publishers look to cut costs.
The 71-year-old author of more than 30 novels, who has sold over 300 million copies worldwide, said the publishing industry faces declining book sales in the US and now the added threat of AI-generated fiction.
"We're terrified because we Americans buy fewer books every year, our kids are reading fewer books every year," Grisham said during a conversation with fellow author Sir Ian Rankin.
"Publishers are worried, and the consumption of books in America has declined for 30 years. It's a very gradual decline… and now we have AI on top of that, and we're worried about what AI is going to do to publishing."
AI-written books with human names
Grisham described a scenario where AI produces novels that rival those of established writers, with publishers attaching a human author's name to the finished product.
"We're going to reach a point where books like ours can be very well written by AI, and somebody puts their name on it, and the publishers sell that," he said.
"It costs them very little. God knows they're paying us a lot. They don't want to do that. Maybe that could happen."
The concern comes as writers increasingly explore what AI tools can do for their craft, from drafting to editing. For those worried about the implications, resources like this AI for Writers hub and this AI Learning Path for Scriptwriters offer practical grounding in where the technology helps and where it falls short.
Publishers still making money
Despite his warnings, Grisham said the industry is not yet in crisis. Publishers continue to profit, helped by growth in digital formats.
"I'm the famous writer in a country where few people read," he said. "Not nobody, but a few people. We still sell a lot of books, and you know, publishers are making money."
"Thank God for e-books. They make so much money off e-books and audiobooks. Audio is the fastest-growing segment of the publishing business right now, and thank God for that. So, most publishers are doing okay."
Why this matters for writers
Grisham's comments point to a specific risk for working authors: publishers may eventually weigh the cost of human advances against the near-zero expense of AI-generated manuscripts. Writers who understand what AI can and cannot do - and who can articulate that value to publishers - are better positioned than those who ignore the technology entirely. The question is not whether AI will write books, but whether readers and publishers will care who wrote them.
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