Plagarism?

Check out this young author from Harvard who "plagarized".

A Harvard University sophomore with a highly publicized first novel acknowledged Monday that she had borrowed material, accidentally, from another author's work and promised to change her book for future editions.

Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," published in March by Little, Brown and Company, was the first of a two-book deal reportedly worth six figures. But on Sunday, the Harvard Crimson cited seven passages in Viswanathan's book that closely resemble the style and language of the novels of Megan McCafferty.

"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," Viswanathan, 19, said in a statement issued by her publisher.

This is the same reason why I could never write a song. I'm okay writing words, but an original melody will not come to me. I've got way too many songs bouncing around in my head. Any song I wrote would resemble something already done.

There was a 100,000 copy first printing of her book. As the publisher is going to issue a new edition omitting the questionable passages, and as there is a movie deal in the works, my advice is to try to snatch up one of those 100,000. Maybe one day they will be considered collectors items.

"Every word in that book was written by her, for better or for worse," he said, adding that work on a new edition would begin "tomorrow."
Viswanathan, who was 17 when she signed her contract with Little, Brown, is the youngest author signed by the publisher in decades. DreamWorks has already acquired the movie rights to her first book.

So the question is: is this really plagarism? I guess it really depends on how "closely" the passages resemble the prior works. But aren't all writers influenced by something or someone?

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