In a significant move, HarperCollins has become the first Big Five publisher to strike a licensing deal to provide access to select nonfiction books for AI training purposes. And so far, authors and agents appear to be approaching the deal with caution and skepticism—if also with a measure of hope.

Multiple sources have now confirmed to PW the broad strokes of the deal, which has been widely reported, including at Bloomberg, which asserts that the deal is with Microsoft, per an anonymous source. In a statement, Harper representatives confirmed only that the agreement with an undisclosed company will “allow limited use of select nonfiction backlist titles” for use in training AI models “to improve model quality and performance.”

The deal is for a three-year period, and authors must opt in, per PW’s source. For those authors who do opt in, the deal provides for a $5,000 fee per book, split evenly between the author and the publisher at $2,500 each; payments will be not counted against author royalties. Crucially, agents confirmed that the deal is effectively a one-off, implemented via contract addenda, and does not seek to establish a new AI licensing right. Sources also confirmed that the unnamed AI company has agreed to several protective terms, including a commitment to limit verbatim reproduction and an agreement not to train on pirated content.

News of the deal comes as HarperCollins parent company News Corp has been aggressively pursuing AI deals, with the company reaching a reported $250 million agreement for AI training on Wall Street Journal content earlier this year. In the book world, academic and professional publishers including Taylor & Francis and Wiley have also announced AI licensing deals this year. But in terms of trade books, HarperCollins appears to be the first and only Big Five publisher to offer an AI licensing deal.

In a statement to PW, S&S reps said that the company is not in talks to license its works for AI training, and reps for PRH said that they “don’t have anything to share at this time.” A Hachette spokesperson told PW that the company has not licensed any books for AI, but added that the AI space “is fast-evolving” and being “monitored” closely. “Any moves we make will be in close consultation with authors and their agents,” the Hachette rep said. Macmillan did not respond to requests for comment.

Robert Gottlieb, chairman of Trident Media Group, praised HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray for moving the AI licensing conversation for books forward, but also expressed concerns about the deal. “I'm very happy that Brian and Harper are trying to find a way to monetize AI. I think that's a good thing,” Gottlieb said. “But it's very, very early in the game.”

Gottlieb noted that “the majority” of his authors are “uneasy” with the terms being offered by Harper, with one of the main concerns being that the authors don’t know who they are dealing with. “That, in and of itself, is a big problem,” Gottlieb said, adding that it is hard to imagine ever telling an author about a potential deal “if we don't know who the buyer is.”

Furthermore, Gottlieb is skeptical about the three-year term of the deal. What happens after the deal expires is unclear—it isn’t like AI can be untrained, he suggested. More broadly, Gottlieb’s uncertainty is rooted in the nascent, quickly developing AI marketplace, and whether $2,500 is enough to do a deal with so many unknowns.

“AI may evolve into a better business matrix for the author down the road,” Gottlieb said. “But again, I applaud Brian and Harper for trying to find a way to monetize it at this very early stage.”

Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger told PW she appreciates the way Harper has approached its first foray into AI licensing, citing the opt-in model, which effectively acknowledges that the right to license works for AI rests with the author, as well as such other protective terms as limiting verbatim text output. And while she has some qualms about the 50-50 split between author and publisher in the Harper deal, she is pleased that Harper has acknowledged that this early agreement is outside of the standard publishing contract. “HarperCollins agrees that the AI deal is a one off,” she said, “and not setting a precedent for future agreements.”

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Our goal is to make sure AI use becomes part of a licensing regime rather than to be considered fair use.
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Though Rasenberger has openly questioned whether licensing deals to train AI can generate enough money to interest authors, she also suggested that at $5,000 per title, the deal is fairly attractive: “Some authors may have 10 titles with HarperCollins, so at $2,500 per book, you are talking about meaningful money.” And while the Authors Guild has a copyright infringement lawsuit underway against Open AI for using unauthorized copies of books to train its LLM, Rasenberger said that she is taking a wider view of the future.

“We can’t bury our heads in the sand,” Rasenberger said. “AI is here to stay. Our goal is to make sure AI use becomes part of a licensing regime rather than to be considered fair use.”

In an alert to its members, the Association of American Literary Agents AI Working Group also urged agents to proceed with caution. "Many agents will remember the early days of e-book rights, and the outcome of a royalty that quickly became industry standard," the AALA alert reads. "Agents should consider carefully: if you and your clients are willing to hand rights over to a publisher for them to administer, what is appropriate compensation to the publisher for their administration of those rights?"

Meanwhile, litigation and potential regulation over AI training are certainly complicating factors when it comes to establishing a licensing model. Dozens of authors are currently plaintiffs in several copyright infringement lawsuits accusing AI developers of training their LLMs on unauthorized copies of books, including copies allegedly scraped from notorious pirate sites. The AI developers, meanwhile, counter that the copying is fair use. How those cases turn will almost certainly play a major role in how the licensing market for AI training develops.

And judging from the author reaction to the HarperCollins deal on social media, authors and readers have serious concerns about the future of AI for the book business. Author Daniel Kibblesmith kicked off a media frenzy after he posted an email from the agent who represented his 2017 picture book Santa's Husband, illustrated by A.P. Quach, for potential inclusion in the deal. Kibblesmith responded on Bluesky with a one-word reaction to the offer: “Abominable.” So far, reaction in the comments, as well as on other platforms, hasn't been much better.

This article has been updated with further information.