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I said I'd leave her alone, but what can I say? This was just too good to pass up, and while I'm not usually one to take pleasure in the misery of others, I think our dear Kaavya "got" what was coming to her. Recent updates on the "How many authors can she possibly plagiarize in one book?" saga tell us that not only was a second author, Sophie Kinsella borrowed from, but also a third with Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries. Could there be more? We'll have to wait and see.

After accusations of literary theft piled up, Little, Brown and Company cancelled her two book deal, including any revised editions of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. "Opal Mehta" is gone, and Viswanathan's career as a writer is over. However, Viswanathan is not the only one at fault here. What about her agent? And her publisher? Aside from the fact that they signed a 17 year old girl to a contract before she had a book, they should have recognized the work of other authors in a genre they publish. Surely they would know what was out there. Who edited this book anyway? Some of the Amazon reviewers pointed out – amusingly at times – that it was poorly written.

For those of you who think they should give her a break because she didn't know what she was doing, consider this. If Kaavya is smart enough to make it into Harvard, do you really think she didn't know what plagiarism was and that it was wrong? Do you still think she didn't know what she was doing? And to top things off, her literary skill weren't strong enough to cover these instances of plagiarism.

But the book finally closes on Viswanathan's career as an author, and we can thank her for placing a stigma on other young authors, ones who actually work hard to come up with their own material.

Posted in author | book | Kaavya Viswanathan | Meg Cabot | Opal Mehta | plagiarism Musings of a Wordsmith | | | | 383 reads