Russell Street Press. Last updated October 2026.

I use AI in my work, and I make no secret of it. This page sets out how.

Where I stand. In the Alliance of Independent Authors’ terms, Russell Street Press is AI-Assisted. AI helps me work. It does not do the creating.

What it does. I have been making up worlds for over forty-five years and building Panimálay since 2014, long before AI came anywhere near it. These days I use AI tools to:

• research;
• hold a very large body of canon and check new work against it;
• do the arithmetic and physics I am not qualified to do;
• test ideas to see whether they stand up;
• edit and proofread: spotting repetition, wandering grammar, continuity slips and character arcs that do not quite work.

Every suggestion is only a suggestion. Sometimes the criticism is valid and sometimes it most certainly is not, and I decide which.

What it does not do. It does not invent my worlds, write my stories or decide what is canon. The ideas, decisions and creative direction are mine, and so are the mistakes.

Why. My spelling has always been atrocious, and I am not in a position to pay for professional editing on everything I produce. AI tools fill some of that gap. They do not replace the skill of a good human editor, and I do not pretend otherwise.

Covers. My covers are imagined by me and drawn with help from AI image tools. Where a store asks, I declare it.

Being open. Readers should know how a book was made, particularly when AI played a meaningful part. I will not pass off AI output as my own creative work. The method behind the worldbuilding series is published in full, and its practical material is free, so you can see exactly how I work.

Accountability. AI gets things wrong, often confidently. I check what it gives me, and I am responsible for everything I publish.

Training data. I do not think companies should train AI on anyone’s copyrighted work without consent, and where they do use it, creators should be paid.

Other people’s choices. Using AI is a personal decision. I respect authors and readers who decide differently.

This page will change as the tools and my use of them change. The date at the top says when it last did.

Questions are welcome: https://www.russell-street-press.co.uk/contact