Publisher Cancels Deal With Young Author

[arquette]

Publisher Cancels Deal With Young Author Publisher Cancels Deal With Young Author May 02, 2006 9:46 PM EDT NEW YORK - A Harvard University student's "chick lit" novel has been permanently withdrawn and her two-book deal canceled, publisher Little, Brown and Co. announced Tuesday, as allegations of literary borrowing proliferated against Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life." "Little, Brown and Company will not be publishing a revised edition of 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life' by Kaavya Viswanathan, nor will we publish the second book under contract," Michael Pietsch, Little Brown's senior vice president and publisher, said in a statement. Little, Brown, which had initially said the book would be revised, declined to comment on whether Viswanathan would have to return her reported six-figure advance. Tuesday's decision caps a stunning downfall for the 19-year-old Viswanathan, a Harvard sophomore whose novel came out in March to widespread attention.

[ottaway]

But the good news is for Harvard MBA....

[ramseyer]

But isn't plagarism one of the major no-nos of I hope Harvard boots her ass out on the sidewalk for breaking student rules of conduct.

[wendler]

We were discussing this the other night and felt that she should be booted out of harvard. One of us (a Harvard alum) felt that the university needed to protect its image by kicking her out. This girl made a big bad mistake and I hope she learns a good lesson from it.