BSFW's AI Policy. Be Pro Human

Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers AI Policy 8/26

As BSFW is a writing group with the stated goal of professional publication for our members, our position on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Generative AI (genAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), is as follows:

• BSFW does not permit the submission of work for critique which has been written by or with the aid of genAI/LLMs.
• BSFW does not permit the uploading of submitted works to genAI/LLM platforms for the purpose of summary or of generating critiques, and does not permit critiques/comments that have been written by or with the aid of genAI/LLMs.
• Tools that generate text in response to user prompting in lieu of the user writing that text themself are prohibited.

At the most basic level, these rules stem out of the circle of creative trust that is necessary to belong to and participate in a creative community, where members submit their work for review in good faith and trust that readers are not sharing their work outside of the critique group, and readers review and critique the works of other members trusting that it is work the author conceived of and crafted on their own. It is a breach of this creative trust for readers to upload text that other members have submitted without their knowledge or consent to public LLM applications. It is also a breach of this creative trust for submitters to ask readers to read and provide feedback on work that they did not produce themselves. 

These rules are also in line with the overall position of the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror professional publications that BSFW authors are seeking to submit to, and professional organizations BSFW authors may seek to join. Several short fiction markets explicitly prohibit AI/genAI/LLM written/aided works, and many submission forms will ask writers to attest to the fact that they have not used AI/genAI/LLMs in their process. Many markets also explicitly note that they may or will ban writers that they find submitting AI/genAI/LLM written/aided works from their publications.

A non-exhaustive selection of market language on AI/genAI/LLM use is as follows:

• Clarkesworld: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/
• Uncanny: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/
• Apex: https://www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-magazine/post/apex-magazine-submissions-guidelines
• Small Wonders: https://smallwondersmag.com/submissions/
• Analog: https://analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/
• The Dark: https://www.thedarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/
• Podcastle: https://podcastle.org/guidelines/ 

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association also recently updated the eligibility rules for the Nebula Awards, a major professional award in our genre, which explicitly deem ineligible any works wholly or partially written by LLMs. https://www.sfwa.org/complete-nebula-awards-rules/ 

The Horror Writers Association also notes in the eligibility rules for the Bram Stoker Awards, another major professional award in our genre, that works using generative AI are ineligible in any category. https://horror.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-Bram-Stoker-Award-Rules.pdf 

The Odyssey Workshop, a prestigious writing workshop in our genre, notes that no portion of their application or writing samples should be written by or with the aid of AI. https://www.odysseyworkshop.org/about-the-workshop/how-to-apply/

BSFW understands that this stance and these rules may not align with all writers, and if that is the case, we invite those writers to seek out other spaces for critique partners.

BSFW leadership retains the right to remove a member should we decide they have broken our community trust.

Sincerely,

Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers Organizers

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