, Columnist
Idea Theft Is Hard to Prove. That's Good.
A writer accuses another of stealing his idea. Let's try to get to the bottom of the story.
Life is full of coincidences.
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I've had in my possession for awhile now a draft of a novel written by a masters-degree candidate at the University of Virginia. Titled "The Bold Harpooner," it was written in 2004 when the student was 29.
Although the manuscript is a long way from being a polished novel, aficionados of literary fiction will recognize its main characters, starting with a talented shortstop named Henry Skrimshander, who helps turn tiny Westish College's perennially inept baseball team into a band of baseball-playing brothers. His gay, cultured roommate, Owen, is a reserve on the team who Skrimshander badly injures with an errant throw, an act that drives much of the plot.