The industry’s tension over AI’s role in creative works is heightened by incidents like Anthropic paying $1.5 billion in a lawsuit over AI training using pirated texts, underscoring the need for safeguards.

Books By People, a UK startup, is providing a public directory of certified human-written books and publishers, offering consumers trust signals that a book is genuinely created by humans.

While some industry leaders support voluntary labeling, there is no push for mandatory AI labels; instead, stronger retailer action against low-quality AI content is being urged.

The initiative was launched with the support of founding publishers committed to safeguarding human creativity and promoting transparency in authorship.

The certification process involves onboarding publishers, ensuring compliance with standards, and conducting annual spot checks, with fees based on the number of titles published.

A new Organic Literature Certification has been launched in the UK to verify books written primarily by humans, with initial partner publishers including Galley Beggar Press, Bluemoose Books, Snowbooks, Scorpius Books, and Bedford Square Publishers.

The certification aims to counter the rise of AI-generated books by promoting human-authored works, with the first certified book being 'Telenovela' by Gonzalo C Garcia, published in November 2025 by Galley Beggar Press.

Publishers who participate in the program must adhere to standards of authentic, human-created content, undergo annual checks, and pay fees based on their output, with limited AI use permitted for minor tasks.

Industry figures like Galley Beggar’s Sam Jordison and Faber are supporting the initiative, with efforts such as Faber applying 'human-written' stickers to emphasize the importance of human creativity.

This move comes amid concerns over unregulated AI-generated content on platforms like Amazon, which can spread misinformation, prompting calls for transparency and industry-wide clarity.

The first certified book, 'Telenovela' by Gonzalo C Garcia, will feature the Organic Literature Stamp when published in November 2025, marking a milestone for the initiative.