| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"Mrsminiversasscrack" |
| Date: |
27 Apr 2006 02:52:30 AM |
| Object: |
Viswanathan |
Harvard author's apology not accepted
Publisher of earlier works rejects view that similarities were accidental
By David Mehegan, Globe Staff | April 26, 2006
The publisher of the books Kaavya Viswanathan is accused of plagiarizing
angrily dismissed yesterday her assertion that she unconsciously and
accidentally duplicated numerous passages.
''We find both the responses of Little, Brown and their author . . .
deeply troubling and disingenuous," said a statement from Steve Ross,
senior vice president and publisher of Crown, which is a division of
Random House. ''Based on the scope and character of the similarities,
it is inconceivable that this was a display of youthful innocence or
an unconscious or unintentional act."
Viswanathan, a 19-year-old Harvard sophomore who has a two-novel contract
with Little, Brown & Co. worth $500,000, acknowledged Monday that she
incorporated portions of Megan McCafferty's work in her debut novel,
''How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," but insisted
she did so inadvertently.
The similarities surfaced Sunday in a report on the Harvard Crimson's
Web edition. On Monday, Little, Brown said it was investigating the
allegations but generally supported Viswanathan, who issued a statement
apologizing to McCafferty. It said, in part: ''I wasn't aware of how much
I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty's words . . . any similarities
between her words and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious."
Viswanathan and Little, Brown said future editions of ''Opal Mehta"
would be revised to eliminate the duplications, though it was unclear
yesterday whether that would require a major rewriting of the book.
Those statements did not satisfy Crown, which published McCafferty's
young-adult novels. Calling the misuse ''nothing less than an act of
literary identity theft," Ross said in a statement that his lawyers
have documented more than 40 instances of ''identical language and/or
common scene or dialogue structure from Megan McCafferty's first two
books, 'Sloppy Firsts' and 'Second Helpings.' " He demanded ''an amicable
and timely resolution to this situation."
Viswanathan did not answer e-mails sent to her yesterday. Little,
Brown spokeswoman Heather Rizzo said the writer was unavailable for
interviews. She also said Little, Brown had no immediate reaction to
the Crown statement.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Ross said the revisions to
Viswanathan's book would take many months -- and ''in the meantime,
the current books would still be available." Already 100,000 copies
of ''Opal Mehta" are in print. Ross did not specifically demand that
Little, Brown pull the books from stores, but he added: ''Our lawyers
are reviewing all options."
The news of the allegations are apparently helping sales of the book.
On Monday it was ranked No. 178 on Amazon.com; yesterday it was No. 68.
Ross said the plagiarism has devastated McCafferty -- whose third novel,
''Charmed Thirds," is No. 19 on The New York Times bestseller list --
and that she is ''not sleeping, not eating."
''She feels like something fundamental was taken," he said in the
interview. ''We all felt it was important that we come to her defense
and make clear that we support our author. The notion that this was
accidental stretches credibility to the breaking point."
Meanwhile yesterday, a Harvard spokesman said an administrative board
that handles student affairs would be ''gathering information" about
the allegations, though he declined to call it an investigation.
''Harvard College takes any accusation of plagiarism very seriously,"
said Robert Mitchell, spokesman for the faculty of arts and sciences.
''However, Harvard policy does not permit us to discuss individual
situations." In the case of students, the university's plagiarism rules
typically would apply only to writing submitted as coursework, not
outside projects.
Viswanathan's novel has received a lot of attention since arriving in
stores this month, partly because of the size of the contract for a
writer so young -- she was 17 when she got it -- but also for the role
a book packager played in developing the plot. Alloy Entertainment,
which shares the copyright for ''Opal Mehta," says it helped the author
conceptualize the book but did not help with the actual writing.
April 26, 2006 (AP)
McCafferty's publisher doesn't believe Viswanathan.
"We think there are simply too many instances of `borrowing' for
this to have been unintentional," Steve Ross, senior vice president
and publisher of the Crown Publishing Group, told The Associated
Press on Tuesday.
*******
First, let me say this:
IS EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY A F***ING IDIOT!!!!?
Ok, now: Why is a teenage author being given a halfmillion dollar
contract for a juvenile book? I mean, how much did Joyce make
on "Ulysses"? Second, why would anyone be MORE interested in
book that's a product of plagiarism (answer: last word in
the capitalized sentence above). Third, why do so many
Harvard types plagiarize? Are their entire lives made of
*****? What do you say, Doris?
I mean, parents helping their kids with fake science
projects in order to join the Harvard club, I knew about.
But fake novels too? I can imagine the conversation
with little Kaavy and her mom:
Mom: Now Kaavy, we need to get you into Harvard,
and we have the money, we just need you to do
a big science project. Daddy and his friends will
help you with it.
Little Kaavy: I don't like science much mom, how
about a novel instead? I can just cut and paste the
stuff I need.
Mom: That's a great idea! I have some friends in
publishing who can get you a contract. A book
contract will look great to the admissions department.
Kaavy: How much do you think I can get?
Mom: Easily half a mil, now don't you worry
we'll have it all taken care of.
Little Kaavy: Gosh, thanks mom! Can I go to the
orgy now?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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