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Nice Girls Don’t Copy Author Kaavya Viswanathan had this to say in a statement from Little, Brown yesterday: “When I was in high school, I read and loved two wonderful novels by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, which spoke to me in a way few other books did. Recently, I was very surprised and upset to learn that there are similarities between some passages in my novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, and passages in these books. “While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn’t aware […]

How Opal Mehta’s Author Got Accused of Plagiarism The Harvard Crimson says that sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan’s novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life “contains several passages that are strikingly similar to two books by Megan F. McCafferty — the 2001 novel Sloppy Firsts and the 2003 novel Second Helpings.” McCafferty’s agent Joanna Pulcini says she first learned of the similarities in an e-mail from a fan. Viswanathan told the paper, “No comment. I have no idea what you are talking about.” Meanwhile, Harvard professor Werner Sollors provides the au courant academic euphemism, saying “some strong […]

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Today’s Personnel News Following Scott Watrous’ departure for Globe Pequot Press, Adams Media has announced a number of management changes. An “executive team” has been formed to lead the company, comprising Gary Krebs, now named publisher, along with director of marketing and design Karen Cooper and executive director of sales Jeanne Emanuel. No New Brown this Year You already knew this, but managing director of Transworld in the UK Larry Finlay confirmed for the trade that Dan Brown’s next novel will not be on its way to bookstores any time this year. “I think and hope it’s going to appear […]

Dan Brown, Still Free Following Random House’s court victory in London earlier this month, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the US has given the Da Vinci Code author his second victory. Earlier this week the court affirmed a District Court ruling granting summary judgment in dismissing infringement claims from Lewis Perdue, author of Daughter of God and The Da Vinci Legacy. The Appeals Court unanimously agreed “for substantially the reasons given by the district court,” declaring, “We have considered all of the Appellant’s arguments and find them to be without merit.” Charles Frazier, Still Writing The Cold Mountain […]

The Art of the Headline-Making Client Editors will want to save today’s Observer piece for a rainy day, as agent David Vigliano gives context to the pursuit by agents of headline makers such as recently released hostage/reporter Jill Carroll. “She’s very sympathetic, so I think there’ll be a very positive reaction to her book. You gotta differentiate between somebody who’s seen like a hero, like she is or [Charles] Moose is, and someone who’s notorious, like Jayson Blair or Jared Paul Stern. If a lot of people are offended by the person’s behavior, ultimately they’re not going to buy a […]