Kaavya is Innocent, Until Proven Otherwise

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Dear Kaavya,

This is your Akka writing. The fact that you have never met me is immaterial; we are brown and we don’t live in the land our parents were born in—that alone means that you probably have relatives you’ve never met, just like I do, so Akka it easily is.

Paavum Kaavya (letÂ’s call you PK for short), there is something I want you to know, but before I disclose that, I have to admit a fault of which I am rather ashamed, a fault which I hope youÂ’ll forgive your imperfect Akka for.

I was jealous of you.

Just a bissel, but it was enough to make me loathe myself for a few minutes. Green looks fabulous on me, but envy surely does not flatter. Wait, don’t frown—I promise that once I was aware that I was being a twat, I earnestly called myself out on it and owned my jealousy. Long before I admitted that my “unlikely-fantasy-if-wishes-came-true” job was acting, I cherished what to me seemed an even more far-fetched aspiration: to write. Getting a book deal seemed like the greatest thing which could possibly happen to someone. To get paid to write? Wow. And that you did, with a stunning advance, which everyone bandies about ad nauseum, since it makes your “fall” all the more violent.

Sigh. How I wished that my parents had been savvy enough to enroll me in an Ivy-League-Prep-Camp-Thing. Where my counselor, who just happened to be a published author, would discover me as if I were some naïve starlet in a ‘40s era soda shop and then pluck me out of the sweaty, freaked-out ranks of cloned overachievers and marvel at my genuine uniqueness. My parents made me turn down Columbia for U.C. Davis. My parents are SO not your parents. Your parents gave you everything, including an inadvertent star-making opp that made me want to howl. You’re nearly half my age. It’s like watching your little sister get married before you do. It’s a little humiliating to endure, in this obsessed with chronological-milestones culture we share.

So, whenever this group blog of mine did a post about you, I’d look down and notice that my skin suddenly looked wayyy more olive than usual. Then I’d take a deep breath and tell myself that you deserved it. That you had hustled for it, working on your writing when in comparison, 17-year old me probably would’ve been brooding over which Smiths or Ultravox LP to spin next. My skin would go back to the shade my mother calls “irrantharam” and I’d exhale with relief. It felt good to be silently proud of you.

Here’s the thing my little PK: I still am. And I’m a little appalled at how many people are crowing elatedly about your alleged toppling. The first thing I thought of when I read the “Crimson” writing on the blog was that tragically accurate, snarktastic story about the pet shop with international crabs. You’re looking at me blankly. I’m sure you haven’t slept. Tut-tut. That won’t do. You know brown girls are predisposed to developing those nasty under eye circles. Take a benadryl, bachi. Your skin and, well, everything will thank you. Hell, take a nap right now. I’ll dispel your probably non-existent curiosity about crabs for you, like a wee bedtime story.

So, there was this pet store and it was renowned for carrying the most exhaustive selection of crabs aroundÂ…there were specimens from Mexico, Japan, RussiaÂ…almost everywhere, really. Each tank had a very secure looking cover to hold in the precious crab-cargo. All, but one, that is. Perplexed, a customer pointed to the open cage and asked the pet store proprietor why it didnÂ’t have a lid.

“Oh. Those are the crabs from India. A lid isn’t required, because as soon as one of them climbs up, all of the others furiously yank it back down. So they never get out.”

Look at you, almost asleep. And I haven’t even come to my main point yet! No wonder you got the book deal and I didn’t. We hadn’t met, so I have no way of knowing if we have this in common, but something tells me we just might—you see, I have a near photographic memory for all things useless. Didn’t help me with German vocab, but it does help me recall conversations I’ve had almost flawlessly, even if it’s been some time since the words were originally spoken (as you can imagine, this makes me a terrifying girlfriend, since it’s exceptionally easy to destroy my boyfriends in arguments…but we won’t go there, in case your parents are reading. Wha-? OH. Hi Viswanathan Uncle and Auntie! I promise I’m a virgin who’s never conversed with men, even ones I’m related to—I’m totally safe to keep around Kaavya!) Whew, that was close.

Anyway, I remember lots of other things as well. I can remember what my very best friend Eileen Perfume was wearing the day Los Angeles exploded in to riots over the Rodney King verdict. (Maroon boucle turtleneck sweater, black crinkle skirt with blood red roses here and there and black knee-high boots, which she had folded down slightly. She had her hair half-up and half-down, eyeliner on the lower lids, ruby lips and no other makeup.) Like you probably are, I’m a devoted bibliophile who can’t bear to be without something to read at all times. My memory kicks in here, too, since as edifying as Gita Mehta or Vikram Seth might be, knowing what either of them wrote at some point ain’t gonna get me an “A” on anything.

So this memory of mine, which I suspect you got too—sometimes, it is almost dangerous, yes? I can remember being in graduate school (has it already been five years since I graduated? Mein Gott.) and being so exhausted, because I worked full-time (as required by my program) AND took all my classes from 7-10 pm each night. I’d read books and articles throughout the entire day and then sit at my computer around 1 am, after the dinner dishes had been washed and my then-boyfriend had been tended to like some entitled Maharajah who keeps asking for “pani!” when he’s supposed to be asleep. Then, exhausted to the point of sleeping mid-keystroke, I would type. And sometimes, I’d go back and see a sentence and think, “weird”.

I’d feel that odd tingle that unmoored recognition evokes. And then slightly horrified and suddenly awake, I’d realize that I had typed, almost verbatim, something I had read earlier in the day. Sometimes, what I had borrowed wasn’t even brilliant. I’d shake my head then. I was terrified of getting caught, since I was certain that one day I’d turn in a paper that contained a sentence that I hadn’t “re-recognized” in time. “Dear Lord, please don’t let it be something craptacular…if I get in trouble, at least let me parrot something genius.” But that’s not how my little universe works, PK. When I was in third grade, my dramatic ascent up the Spelling Bee ladder was destroyed when I misspelled a word so simple, I’m too ashamed to even type it. It’s always the little things that I trip over, in the end.

I donÂ’t believe that you are the torment-deserving fraud that many of my fellow pajamahadeen think you are. I donÂ’t think you copied those words, that youÂ’re a plagiarist. I think that either one of two things occurred, neither of which is really your fault:

1) You pulled an “Akka” and regurgitated something that was playing on your mind. Like the number “170”. Even if this is true, I blame your handlers for not vetting a manuscript that had received sooo much attention, in this post-Frey era. Perhaps I am mistaken, but aren’t they supposed to read, re-read and triple read what they’re hawking? I can’t help but believe that this is quite common in terms of the writing process, this borrowing a phrase or voice. If this public flogging hasn’t happened often to other writers, then I feel like some critical step was missed in this entire process. Even if I’m wrong, and the process allows that manuscripts DON’T get vetted as carefully as a cabinet-level appointment (WTF?) I think you didn’t intend to lift such craptacular writing. If you were pushed over the ethical edge by exhaustion, pressure and your Ivied obligations, I think you would’ve chosen someone better to borrow from.

2) And this one is the more sinister, more galling and I think, most possible. I keep reading that your book was initially quite different. Darker. Truer. Kaavya-er. I heard that THAT manuscript wasn’t “marketable”, not with a pinkish cover and some strappy stilettos. I heard that lots of Kaavya disappeared and in its place, fluff was stuffed in to Opal Mehta. I don’t know if you’re being set up (that would be even MORE sinister! Perish the thought!) but I do think that someone else did that heavy lifting, dear girl. And I think you’re the one who’s getting marched up to Golgotha for it.

Speaking of Golgotha, perhaps the reason I have so much faith in you is because I suddenly have a lot in me, quite literally. I spent enough time in church last week to qualify being religious as a part-time job, potentially with bennies, if itÂ’s like Starbucks. I emerged from my week of holiness, calmer, stronger, fortified with light. Buoyed by hope and a renewed determination to see good everywhere, in everyone, in all things. If I can have faith that bread and wine when consecrated by a priest, become the body and blood of my savior, I can give my PK the benefit of my doubt. Let people trash and thrash you, Kaavya. Blogging has thoroughly taught me that the bile which they spew (my sinful self included, natch) indicates more about them then you, anyway. You deserve to be innocent until proven otherwise. And I believe that you might just be exonerated of these heavy, back-breaking charges which lay now on your similarly irrantharam shoulders. And if you should fall, while on your way, no matter what causes you to stumble, you will have my prayers and support. We are all human, pots and kettles the lot of us and we all deserve a little bit of compassion.

Sincerely,

Anna-akka

564 thoughts on “Kaavya is Innocent, Until Proven Otherwise”

  1. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/24/D8H6LMKOI.html

    Young Author Admits Borrowing Passages

    When I was in high school, I read and loved two wonderful novels by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts' andSecond 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 … and passages in these books,” Viswanathan, 19, said in a statement issued by her publisher.

    “While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn’t aware of how much I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty’s words. I am a huge fan of her work and can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious. My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities.

    “I sincerely apologize to Megan McCafferty and to any who feel they have been misled by these unintentional errors on my part.”

  2. 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 … and passages in these books…

    good on her for dealing with it head on with tact at such a young age.

    you go brown girl!

  3. To the professional writers (and others who may know): do you think it’s possible to do what she says? Internalize those exact sentences and reproduce them in book form? I’m torn. Cheating is never okay (which is what plagiarism is at the end of the day) but she is so young and we have all made mistakes in our youth. Imagine having your mistakes play out in such a public form!

  4. @md, #103

    do you think it’s possible to do what she says?

    definitely, and she may yet redeem herself of plagiarism charges. i am surprised no one has brought up yann martel’s” acclaimed life of pi, (booker prize winner) yet.

  5. of course, kv has reproduced roughly same sentences (though few enough that there is room for doubt). so kv will have a much tougher job defending herself.

  7. man i DON’T wanna be a hater (and end up as haterade fodder for the barmaid). everyone keeps citing her age as a defense for copying but if you’re publishing a novel, if you’ve got a $500 000 book deal you’ve got to be above making a mistake like that. i’m really sorry, i just don’t understand how she’s old enough to get $500K for publishing a book but not old enough to realize that copying in that book is wrong. i just can’t reconcile it.

  9. Hmm… that’s a lot of internalizing going on. I gave her the benefit of my doubts at first, but the more I re-read the similar passages, and saw that there were more than 10, I’m starting to doubt…

    Did she actually try to talk to McCafferty about this yet, and apologize to her? Because: to whom is she apologizing? To the world that caught her (“gee, sorry to shatter your illusion of my innocence, and possibly ruin my and others’ reputations”)?

    Her explanation is coming a little too quick — do you really think she deeply deliberated on the implications in just two days? And came to terms emotionally and mentally with how serious these types of allegations are and what they imply? I dunno…

  10. “When I was in high school, I read and loved two wonderful novels by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts' andSecond 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 … and passages in these books…”

    OH give me a break! I’ve been supporting her all day, but come on!! Twenty-nine instances of plagiarism.

    “I lied. I cheated.” Go ahead say it. You’re still in college. You’re still going to make sick money as an investment banker. Your literary career is over. Go out gracefully. Tell the whole truth, Kaavya.

  11. Once you’re all done with your self-hating wankfest, the crab story is just another example of this thing called Tall-Poppy syndrome, and Indians are not the only ones who suffer from it, so get over your confused little selves, and try and live a little. And the reason dear “PK” is being pulled down is because her writing is crap. So most people are breathing a sigh of relief that their faith in all things doesn’t ave to be shattered. It’s nice to approach this from a brown-girl in america – we’re all sisters kind of thing, if it gets you off, but completely wrong. You want defend people, defend mukhtaran bibi or somebody more deserving.

  12. and saw that there were more than 10

    i didn’t realize this part. i skimmed through the first article which reported it, and they mention 3 or 4, and that from different books. i missed the link to the complete list.

    10 sounds a little too much. but still, there is a chance it was not intentional. it is quite possible she knew what she was doing, but did not realize the gravity of it—i mean “she is a spoilt kid who has never faced the brunt of her actions” kind of way.

    but even so, i would hesitate to run her down more than what she is already facing. the point is not revenge, but that she learns a lesson. if she has any talent, it should not be squandered. if she does not, well, you won’t hear of her again.

  14. I’m all for industrial espionage. That said, my first reaction to reading the ‘plagarized’ bits was horror. If I’d published the stuff I’d written at three in the morning when I was 17 it would’ve (accidentally) had echoes of what I read and admired in it too. My 17-year-old self would not have been paranoid enough to catch it. Plus, if I’d been asked to re-work my beloved hypothetical manuscript, in a hurry… I have a freaking good memory too, for things I’ve read, in particular. Stuff happens.

    Good luck Kaava!

  15. I’m sorry — but reading some of the comments about just doesn’t make sense. You guys are basically saying that plagirizing is OK if you are 19?! When you get paid $500K for producing an original piece of work… I don’t think it is. Irrespective of the current controversy, her book was a disaster by itself. ..The last time I checked, high school girls weren’t wearing JImmy Choos and Miu Miu to class and they weren’t using La Mer on their faces. It’s more like Abercrombie and Victorias. And since when did Mehta’s who worked at Patel Cash and Curry reminisce about Madras? I couldn’t even finish half the book.. thank God it was a review copy. I agree with Crimsonite– atleast in future the publishers will be very careful of who they hand out $500K checks.

  16. I must admit to schadenfreude on this one! I know it makes me a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad person. Oops. I plagiarized from a children’s book.

  17. 10 sounds a little too much.
    How does twenty-nine sound?

    now i think i will stick by my second theory:

    it is quite possible she knew what she was doing, but did not realize the gravity of it—i mean “she is a spoilt kid who has never faced the brunt of her actions” kind of way.

  18. JS: Most publishers are idiots. Anyone who’s ever tried to publish anything will tell you so, except for the few who think that their having been “chosen” venerates said publisher from idiocy. $500K mistakes aside, the title of this post is “Innocent until Proven Otherwise”, no?

  19. Compare:

    Irrespective of the current controversy, her book was a disaster by itself. ..The last time I checked, high school girls weren’t wearing JImmy Choos and Miu Miu to class and they weren’t using La Mer on their faces. It’s more like Abercrombie and Victorias.

    with:

    How Opal Mehta got kissed.. blah blah, is probably, the worst book I’ve EVER read by far. Factually incorrect,( when she writes about high school students who wear Jimmy Choos and use La Mer face creams…she talking about exactly?

    Y’know I am a youth culture consultant and I do know 17 year old girls are bitchy, but the last time I checked they weren’t wearing Manolo Blaniks to school.

    The latter was posted on “Style Station” earlier today. The evidence is pretty damning, Jinal. You’ve just plagiarized yourself. Fo’ shame! 🙂

  21. The last time I checked, high school girls weren’t wearing JImmy Choos and Miu Miu to class and they weren’t using La Mer on their faces. It’s more like Abercrombie and Victorias.

    Ever seen My Super Sweet 16?

    And since when did Mehta’s who worked at Patel Cash and Curry reminisce about Madras?

    my punjabi sikh exbf’s dad spoke fondly of madras, often– he went to IITM. surely you’re not assuming that there are no gujurati people in chennai? or is there something really illogical in the book (which i haven’t read yet)?

    You guys are basically saying that plagirizing is OK if you are 19?!

    no, i’m saying that making grave errors in judgment is something that teens do, it’s part of growing up. NONE of us was a perfect 18 or 19 year-old and i hope that truth is kept in mind as people vivisect her. and finally, no one has said that plagiarizing is okay. i’m proud of the fact that i didn’t cheat ONCE in college/grad school. i’m the last person to endorse such behavior.

  22. It is a shame that she seems to have played fill-in-the-blank with someone else’s story. I was rather hoping that the story was really hers. Oh well. We should all be lucky enough to plagiarize our way into a book deal for a half a million dollars. She’ll keep the money, graduate from Harvard, and get a cushy job at an investment bank. I only laugh at her, because obviously she was too lazy to change her story around enough so it didn’t resemble a mad libs exercise. Every cheating little high school student knows they have to change the story/paper/quote around enough so that it’s not so glaringly obvious, but not so much that they actually have to do original writing. Poor Kaavya, she’s sobbing all the way to the bank.

  23. Ever seen My Super Sweet 16?

    by the by…that show has to be the most effective form of birth control, EVER. nothing makes me want to swear off motherhood faster than watching some hyper-annoying twat whine about how if her party, like, isn’t the best? like, she’ll totally die. right after she tells her parents to shut up, and all this AFTER having the audacity to yell that the car they bought her isn’t nice enough.

    it’s not that i’d raise assholes like that, it’s that my relatively deprived, disciplined children would have to be friends with these idiots. i love my ovum to much to subject them to that.

    vomit

  25. I generally am in favor of letting everything shake out before saying much of anything, especially over stuff like this. Especially something negative.

    Abhi the civilian ALWAYS positively stimulates.

    When not in uniform the proton phaser is always set to tickle. Once he suits up, get ready for a spankin’.

  26. | or is there something really illogical in the book (which i haven’t read yet)?

    Maybe you should read the book. Besides, I really don’t think the KV intended to give Opals parent’s any additional depth , leave alone the element of gujjus growing up in Chennai. But that point is not worth arguing.

    | NONE of us was a perfect 18 or 19 year-old and i hope that truth is kept in mind as people vivisect her.

    This is not about being 18 or 19. Really, how can you justify copying whatwasit? 19? 29? passages/ideas off of someone else’s work. Heck – she even apologized! (And what a lame apology at that) Anna, I do feel bad for her – it sucks that this happened to her at this age. But trust me, if you know anything about the publishing industry and how things work here, Opal Mehta, was targetted to be a money-maker since day one. Who knows? Maybe this is yet another publicity stunt. Publishing magnates are very capable of pulling them off.

  28. Maybe you should read the book.

    I actually plan to, but I don’t think I have to in order to ask that we pause before e-lynching her.

    This is not about being 18 or 19. Really, how can you justify copying whatwasit?

    You are right, it’s not about that, but you exclaimed something to the effect of “her age makes it okay?” and I addressed that misunderstood point. Look, I don’t have to justify jack. I stated earlier that I’m anti-intellectual theft.

    ALL of that doesn’t change the following, though– since writing this post, I have not wavered in my belief that:

    -people who don’t know the entire story should think twice before skewering her AND

    -that the gloating (which I’m thrilled there isn’t much of, here, but I was affected by plenty of it which I saw elsewhere) is not attractive AND

    -that often, IMO, pity is the apposite response to such scandals.

  30. I didn’t think the comments were out-of-line in relation to what happened, until Anna asked for calm. Ironic, eh?

  32. no, i’m saying that making grave errors in judgment is something that teens do, it’s part of growing up.

    maybe so. but escaping their consequences is sometimes only a rich kid’s prerogative.

  33. HG- a very mature, logical, and well thought-out counterargument. Yale has obviously done wonders for you. 😉

  34. No need to call me idiot Jinal.

    It was a joke. Eh? I was kidding.

    Did you see the smiley face at the end of my post? That was there in case you didn’t get the jokiness of the joke.

    Everyone knows that’s your blog. And, for those who didn’t, “you’ve just plagiarized yourself” (not someone else) should have been a clue.

  35. maybe so. but escaping their consequences is sometimes only a rich kid’s prerogative.

    well put.

  36. but escaping their consequences is sometimes only a rich kid’s prerogative.

    why don’t we wait and see if she actually escapes them? with so many out for crimson blood, she just might not. i’ll refrain from mentioning how i rolled my eyes at this comment’s implications…as if we, who write and read this blog aren’t rich and or privileged. woops, out it slipped (that’s what he said!). my bad. at least i didn’t plagiarize. 😉

  37. as if we, who write and read this blog aren’t rich and or privileged

    Depends on how you define it. We are all priviledged in some ways, if not others. But no, some of us weren’t born into Opal Mehta type wealth.

  38. Y’know I am a youth culture consultant and I do know 17 year old girls are bitchy, but the last time I checked they weren’t wearing Manolo Blaniks to school.

    I know 17 year olds wearing Manolos. I bet their 13 year old sisters are borrowing them too. I also work at a very expensive private university smack in the middle of the richest part of Dallas, so maybe my perspective is skewed…but perhaps a girl whose family drops $20K to help her fill out her college applications would probably feel right at home in a world where a $400 designer purse and name-brand shoes are necessity and you get a shiny BMW on your 16th birthday and a Ferrari when you graduate from college.

    /nothing of substance to add //i really hope she’s telling the truth about this “internalizing” business

  39. Hmm,… Has it occurred to anyone that the Harvard Crimson staff who launched this story are jealous classmates/dormmates/professors? Talk about vindictive. It’s like everyone already hated this girl, and just wanted to dig up a reason to.

  40. Or have 20,000 dollar ivy league enrichment coaches…

    She is done.Let her rot.

    Her book deal will be dropped (like Frey). She will be the butt of mockery for the rest of her life..Her advance could be revoked..I can just imagine the snickers at Harvard….She will never be hired at a top tier investment bank (would you trust her with money..)

    ..Then finally she will be spit out the bottom of the porn industry…(I just plagiarizard a seinfeld!)

  41. We are all priviledged in some ways, if not others. But no, some of us weren’t born into Opal Mehta type wealth.

    A lot of us weren’t. As dumb as this might read, I didn’t realize that brown kids were “Opal”s who were born in to $$$ like that until I went to grad school, which was private vs. my public undergrad. My mom is a nurse, not a doctor. Believe me, I didn’t grow up wearing Jimmy Choos to my Ivy League coaching sessions. I was still privileged, though and that’s why I rolled my eyes…even middle class me got to “escape” a few consequences.

    My point is, I almost think we want to isolate her, demonize her, keep her separated…because that’s human nature, that’s what’s comfortable, hell, that’s what’s fun. While other people are singing a hook by the terrible offspring, I’ve got Matthew Sweet’s “Baby, we’re the same” stuck in my head. Why paint her as some Marie Antoinette-like figure, when in reality, many of us are probably closer to her than further?

    But you are right, it depends on how you define it.

  42. I completely agree with everything Anna (and her evil/angelic personalities) have posted. I don’t condone plagiarism, but I do feel for the girl. I have fucked up pretty badly in my lifetime, and I would loved to have known at that time that complete strangers weren’t wishing me the worst.

  43. I am finding it hard to keep up with the 2 posts – one by evil abhi, and the other by angelic anna – yet with similar comments on both – are these comments plagiarized? heh heh 😉

    Again, other than the occasional (but rare) “let her rot” type comments, I’ve been finding the opinions about what encompasses plagiarism, and “unintentional, subconcious” copying really interesting. I’m surprised they are so varied. You guys almost had me doubting if the Megan books were copied at all! After 20+ similar passages, my doubts are gone. However, I still don’t think she necessarily did the copy/paste job herself – the contracts she signed probably holds her responsible as to the content of her book… or her parents, since she was 17 at the time of the signing.

    As for her response – I guess the spin was expected. Maybe she got some of the “subconcious” defense from this very site! Kind of stinks of Ashlee Simpson, though – although I’m sure KV is much brighter, which is why I was hoping for more.

    Regarding her professor’s comments – aren’t profs supposed to keep grades confidential? Seems like he/she crossed some ethical boundaries himself.

  44. I have fucked up pretty badly in my lifetime, and I would loved to have known at that time that complete strangers weren’t wishing me the worst.

    Yup, haven’t we all…..

    But, I haven’t seen too much in the way of scathing remarks here on SM. Are these comments being deleted or something before I get a chance to read them? Or are they on other sites? I keep seeing these accusations, but I don’t see much in the way of gloating comments. at all The only f’d up comment that really made me cringe was directed at a mutineer-poster.

  45. @anna,

    with so many out for crimson blood, she just might not. i’ll refrain from mentioning how i rolled my eyes at this comment’s implications..

    she will not escape consequences here, and the reason is not going to be because of anything we say. i don’t feel the sympathy you do, but i agree there is not much point running her down further.

    re: the implications. yes, i meant to imply her privilege may be a reason why she never realized things could go wrong if you are not careful. that she knew what she was doing, but did not realize, or more importantly give importance to the gravity of the situation.

    of course it is all relative. i wouldn’t survive a day in sudan, and people there would say it is my sheltered upbringing.

  46. Thinking tangentially here:

    Perhaps all authors who work with companies like Alloy/17th should have their books credited to “[Author’s name] and [packaging company’s name].”

    Science/engineering research comes closest to the ideal of crediting all people who contribute substantially to a work (not that it’s perfect).

    Visual art is another area where one artist often receives full credit for work which is substantially done by a team.

  47. Regarding her professor’s comments – aren’t profs supposed to keep grades confidential? Seems like he/she crossed some ethical boundaries himself.

    Well, username “mowglisambo” suggests a certain…bias?

  48. i wonder…

    if the reason people didn’t find out the alleged plagiarism in ‘opal mehta’ before is because chick lit as a genre is so full of same-ness and stereotypes that they could virtually all just be one big fat book? yes she stole some lines but how ‘original’ were those lines in the first place?

    look at authors like marian keyes, the praised queen of chick lit. without having read any of her books except for skimming through watermelon for about 10 pages, i could tell you that the main character will be a 30-something woman living in Dublin/London/Edinburgh, with a media job as a publisher/editor/journalist, who is totally frazzled/hopeless with men/emotionally fucked up and who will eventually find her man who is a lawyer/corporate banker/stockbroker who whisks her off to New York.

    yes, what she did was pretty stupid but how many stupid things have any of us done when we were 17? create an environment of parental pressure, cultural confusion/anxiety and ivy league competitiveness and its no wonder we get the little Kaavyas of this world. aiyo, give the girl a bashing a little bit of a rest, haters.

  49. ahem…give the girl-bashing a bit of rest, not keep on bashing her and then resting to keep…oh you get what i mean.

  50. look at authors like marian keyes, the praised queen of chick lit. without having read any of her books except for skimming through watermelon for about 10 pages, i could tell you that the main character will be a 30-something woman living in Dublin/London/Edinburgh, with a media job as a publisher/editor/journalist, who is totally frazzled/hopeless with men/emotionally fucked up and who will eventually find her man who is a lawyer/corporate banker/stockbroker who whisks her off to New York.

    But the issue is about really specific wording, not about general plot/character types.