Opal Mehta

Another ugly incident of dishonesty has been playing out in the publishing biz in the last week or so.  Kaavya Viswanathan,a sophomore at Harvard, had been hailed as the Big New Voice among youthful novelists and her first book, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life had recently been published by Little, Brown.

Last week, allegations emerged that Ms. Viswanathan had copied passages of her book from two Megan McCafferty young-adult novels, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.  The publisher has now withdrawn the book from distribution and has rescinded their two-book publishing deal with Ms. Viswanathan.

Here is an article from The New York Times, along with links to other stories detailing the progression of the story.

AliceBakerBlog will be quiet for a few days while I take a few days off.  Back next week.