Around the Web: Plagiarism, Problematic Faces, Freedom to Read, Libraries, and Literary Cameos

Hello all! I hope you’ve been having a fantastic week. I’ve got lots of internet goodies for you today, so sit back, relax, and get your scroll on.

Plagiarism

The romance community recently went through some major drama over plagiarism. An author was accused of copying passages from several other books nearly verbatim and when called out, she blamed it on a Fiverr ghostwriter. For more on this and other cases of plagiarism, check out this article from the Guardian.

On Problematic Faves

If you’re a fan of literary analysis and cultural critique, look no further than Amanda Leduc’s latest column for Open Book. She discusses the original version of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale and finding out unsavory details about one of her favourite authors.

Freedom to Read Week

It’s Freedom to Read Week and the Writer’s Union of Canada has announced the winners of the 2019 Freedom to Read Award. This year, the honour went to Jael Richardson and the Festival of Literary Diversity, and I for one, can’t think of more deserving winners. The nominating author wrote, “who wrote, "True freedom to read requires an invitation to read broadly, to be challenged and inspired toward personal and social transformation, to meet characters beyond categories of likeness in order to build acceptance, empathy and equality."

A History of Libraries

History fans, you’ll want to check this one out! Ariel Aberg-Riger has created an illustrated history of public libraries. It discusses how libraries came to be and their importance today.

Literary Cameos

Finally, those of you who’ve ever gotten a little thrill from spotting a favorite book in the hands of an actor on screen will enjoy Lit Hub’s list of literary cameos. (Bonus: it’s 90s themed!)