Renee Rowland
Booksellers Aotearoa NZ
79 Boulcott St
Wellington 6011
19 November 2025
New Zealand Book Awards Trust
PO Box 331488
Takapuna
Auckland 0740
Kia ora koutou,
On behalf of Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand and our member bookshops across the country, I write to express our unequivocal support for your decision to exclude works containing AI-generated book content, including covers.
We recognise that this decision has not been without difficulty, however, we believe the Trust has taken a principled and necessary stand at a watershed moment for our industry.
Book covers are critical in bookselling. They are signals to a reader of the story they are looking for; they are a visual extension and a creative interpretation of the story within. They represent the vision of skilled designers and illustrators who bring empathy, cultural understanding, and artistic judgment to their craft. These are human qualities and they are essential to maintaining the integrity of the stories booksellers create a marketplace for.
Booksellers are eager to move with and adapt to the changes and opportunities that technology and AI bring. We are always seeking innovation, especially where it improves business performance and brings productivity gains. However, this can only be achieved with clear boundaries.
AI has moved us into a crucible of change. It has huge potential to bring benefits to all parts of the book industry, but alongside this efficiency there is growing evidence of abuse, and challenges and threats to copyright and intellectual property, the bedrock of our industry. Without proper protection of intellectual property and copyright, the entire book ecosystem is vulnerable. Copyright enables innovation: works protected by the intellectual property regime, and the authors and creators who rely on it for their livelihood, are what make technical innovations like AI possible in the first place.
Booksellers rely on a robust framework underpinning the exclusive rights of creators and rights holders. Consumers have the right to know. Readers deserve transparency when purchasing a book and any content produced by an AI system should be clearly identified as such.
In lieu of any governance or regulation around the use and implementation of AI, the NZBAT have shown leadership in the industry by maintaining standards of creative integrity and setting clear boundaries around AI use when the landscape is otherwise opaque. The Trust have shown a clear direction to how we maintain and celebrate our industry’s integrity, values and culture.
We acknowledge the challenges ahead as AI technology continues to evolve, and we look forward to working with the Trust, publishers, authors, and illustrators to develop clear, workable guidelines that support both creative integrity and practical publishing realities.
Ngā mihi nui,
Renee Rowland
Association Manager
Booksellers Aotearoa NZ