As Plagiarism Allegations Deepen, IvyWise Distances Itself from Kaavya

Jon Liu in the Harvard Independent:

For more Indy coverage, see KaavyaGate.

Nyet14104251741small_1On Monday evening, the Crimson reported another twist in the Kaavya Viswanathan ’08 plagiarism scandal: bloggers at DesiJournal and elsewhere discovered new suspicious similarities, this time to works by Meg Cabot and Salman Rushdie, in Viswanathan’s novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. Hours later, the New York Times reported more passages possibly lifted from yet another author, Sophie Kinsella.

Even before the new round of allegations surfaced, the high-priced college-counseling firm whose CEO and founder, Katherine Cohen, introduced Viswanathan to the publishing world, was already subtly distancing itself from its most famous client. Apparently in response to articles published by the Independent and others, IvyWise made several changes to its flashy graphics- and music-enhanced web site over the weekend. The changes included adding statements categorically disavowing marketing or “packaging” college applicants, but media stories the company continues to prominently feature on the same site paint a more complex picture.

More here.  [Thanks to Jonathan Kramnick.]