Plagiarism: "Breaking Cover" and "Cover Up"

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In early 1992, it was revealed that a prolific BNF fan had plagiarized a well-known Pros story for her Star Trek: TOS story.

The plagiarized Pros story was Breaking Cover by Ellis Ward.

The Star Trek story, Cover Up, was by Kay Wells. Wells had copied the exact plot and, in fact, had lifted entire paragraphs verbatim from Ward's story.

Very Brief Descriptions of Both Stories

In Ward's story, Bodie and Doyle are co-habiting in a platonic manner after Doyle's recovery from being shot in the episode, "Discovered in a Graveyard." Doyle is assigned to work in close quarters with another officer, Connor. Connor makes the moves on Doyle. Doyle is tempted but turns him down. This opens Doyle's mind to having a sexual relationship with Bodie.

In Wells' story, Kirk is assigned to work in close quarters with another captain, Galen. Galen makes the moves on Kirk. Kirk is tempted but turns him down. This opens Kirk's's mind to having a sexual relationship with Spock.

Sample Text

From "Breaking Cover"

"Doyle again," Winslow commented the following afternoon. "That's the fifth time you've brought up his name today."

Unfazed, Bodie contemplated the positioning of his pawn before replying. "You know what it's like with partners."

Winslow gazed morosely down at the chess board. "Know what it was like with mine."

"Delaney. Falling in love with a terrorist." He clicked his tongue reprovingly. "Or were you just making do with the available talent?"

With the unblinking stare of a reptile, Winslow said, "No. He was special."

"That's against the rules, Con," Bodie said pedantically. He placed his pawn in certain jeopardy, tired of the game and ready to see it end--even if he had to lose to do so.

"And rules were made--"

"--to be broken. Old cliche. And not always the brightest idea in the world."

"Especially not in CI5, you mean? Depends on who you are, doesn't it. Take you and Doyle, for example: If you were sleeping together, what would Cowley have to say about it, so long as you did your jobs and didn't frighten the horses--or in his case, Joe Public?"

"That is droll," Bodie said, assuming a pained expression. "He'd have loads to say, I expect. It isn't exactly approved of in Whitehall yet, y'know."

Winslow's lips lifted at Bodie's prim imitation of a nasal-toned minister. "I'm not suggesting you commit sodomy on the steps of HQ, you mannerless lout."

From "Cover Up"

"Spock again," Galen commented. "That's the fifth time you've brought up his name today."

Unfazed, Kirk contemplated the positioning of his pawn before replaying. "You know how it is with first officers."

Galen gazed morosely down at the chess board. "Know what it was like with mine."

"Melabiz. Falling in love with your first." Kirk clicked his tongue reprovingly. "Or were you just making due with the available talent?"

With the unblinking stare of a predator, Galen said, "No. He was special."

"That's against the rules," Kirk said pedantically. He moved a knight, placing it in certain danger. He was tired of the game - - both of them - - and ready to quit even if it meant losing.

"And the rules were made to be broken."

"Old cliche. And not always the most intelligent idea," Kirk responded tiredly.

"Especially not for starship captains, you mean? Depends on who you are, doesn't it? Take you and Spock, for example: if you were sleeping together, what would Nogura have to say about it, as long as you did your jobs and didn't create any publicity."

"That's almost amusing," Kirk said, his face looking pained. He'd have a lot to say, I expect." It isn't exactly approved of in all the circles of high command."

Galen's lips lifted at Kirk's exaggerated imitation of a desk-bound admiral. "I'm not suggesting you comment sodomy on the steps of Starfleet Command."

The Topics Involved in the Controversy

• fandom as a gift economy; plagiarism is especially painful as it can't be brushed off as utilizing canon or for-profit showrunners, or "sticking it to the man," or borrowing from nameless corporations
• a fan commented on a basis of fandom: "...in a fandom which thrives on lifting plots from classic novels, writing sequels to others' sequels, perhaps it was merely considered "borrowing" Ward's story. After all, how can a fan sue another fan for lifting the plot of a story which is already a copyright violation to begin with? I mean, we're all already "stealing..."
• where does a fan's borrowing of elements and plots and feels stop being an homage to another story, and become theft?
• fannish plagiarists lose all credibility as a innovator, and they break a fannish code of trust, something that cannot truly be repaired; there will always be suspicions regarding their future creations
• where does the long rich history of borrowing and the use of other fan stories come into play? where did Cover Up fall into place regarding Unauthorized Sequels? Responsefics? Remixes? And unapologetic plagiarism?
• would Wells' story have been accepted if she had gained permission from Ward?
• this was done right on the cusp of wide-spread computer use, emails, and communities; previously fans communicated with each other via the telephone, conversations at cons and other in-person fan gatherings, personal letters in the mail, statements and letters of comment in letterzines, APAs, and other print venues; this meant that for many fans, there may or many not have been widespread connection among different fandoms -- something that was changing in 1992
• while fan communities were always bumping up against each other, how much did computers change things? No longer were there a fairly small number of media fandom communities, but many and they had more far-reaching tools of communication at their disposal; Mysti Frank mentioned a letter by Wells in the editorial to the Pros zine, Chalk and Cheese #10 that Wells told her in a letter: "that she didn't think that K/S fans read Pros, or vice versa, and that the story just seemed to be made for the K/S universe. Folks, fandom as it exists today is too well connected, too diversified"
• in the end, where does homage, borrowing, tweaking, and transforming works become unacceptable theft? The plagiarized story by Ellis Ward (Breaking Cover) was inspired (assumable with permission) by Suzan Lovett's art, The Declassizing of Bodie. Lovett herself used a perfume ad as a photo reference for that art (presumably without permission). One fan addressed Wells in a public letter saying that if one was going to borrow another fans' work, borrow from the best: "On a personal note - Kay, I understand you are an artist as well. May I recommend Suzan Lovett as a role model. If you are going to copy, copy from the best. Sincerely, Kathy" In a bit of irony, perhaps that's what happened here?

The Repercussions

Plagiarism Itself

Plagiarism is very much a taboo, and when it is discovered that a fan has plagiarized another fan, the fallout is swift and definitive. Fans who have committed this sin are often shunned, and are not welcome to sit by their fandom campfires any longer.

For fans with fiction or art on archives and other sites, their works are usually deleted, and the fan is banned, often permanently.

In 1992, when this controversy took place, there was no internet. This means punishment and repercussions would have been the usual social awkwardness and actions, but it usually meant a rejection of the plagiarist's future works in fiction platforms, the print zines.

This Specific Occurrence

Kay Wells was a BNF and fannish powerhouse. While not a prolific writer of letters of comment, she was active at conventions and fandom supporter. Most importantly, Wells was huge provider of fanworks. Wells had been creating fanart and fanfiction in Star Trek: TOS, specifically Kirk/Spock communities since 1988. In 1992, she was perhaps winding down a bit, but still at the top of her game.

Kay Wells did not make any known public statements. Mysti Frank, a prolific zine editor and owner of a massive zine empire, mentioned that Wells had written Frank a letter in early May that included a vague statement stating "she could not remember the name of the story or its plot, but did not feel she had anything to apologise for." Frank also mentioned that Wells' K/S publisher and editor, Robin Hood, did not know about Wells' appropriation of Ward's story, and that Hood was upset.

Perhaps Wells had enough fannish social capital to weather the sin. It's possible that K/S fans were also willing to overlook the infraction because Wells was an excellent artist, and fandoms were always looking for more fan contributions, especially artists.

There must have been some sort of understanding or reconciliation in K/S fandom regarding her story as Wells continued to create art and fiction in K/S fandom, and print zine editors continued to accept and include her fanworks.

One oddity: Leftovers was removed from subsequent printings of Within the Mirror #7 (1993), perhaps a "leftover" from the controversy in some way.

Fan Comments

From "Chalk and Cheese": "plagiarism, pure and simple" (May 1992)

The first public comments were in the editorial of Chalk and Cheese #10 (May 1992), Mysti Frank wrote that Kay Wells had "rewritten" this story, using a Pros story by Ellis Ward called "Breaking Cover":

Approximately a week ago, I received a letter from Kay Wells stating that she could not remember the name of the story or its plot, but did not feel she had anything to apologise for. I was rather confused as to what she was referring until I chanced to talk to a few West Coast friends, who informed me that me Wells had taken Ellis Ward's story, "Breaking Cover," which was published in Chalk and Cheese 8, and rewritten it as a Kirk/Spock story (without the author's consent or even awareness) and submitted it to Robin Hood, who, not knowing the circumstances, published it in First Time 31, her K/S zine. Not only did she "rewrite" the story, but she lifted whole paragraphs intact. Regardless of what you call it, this is plagarism, pure and simple. Ms. Wells said that she didn't think that K/S fans read Pros, or vice versa, and that the story just seemed to be made for the K/S universe. Folks, fandom as it exists today is too well connected, too diversified, for anyone to think he or she can get away with this. I cannot control Ms. Wells' actions, nor can I speak for Ellis Ward, who is dealing with this matter in a dignified and humorous manner, but this situation galls me. It strikes at the heart of the editor in me and angers the writer in me. What if Ms. Wells, or someone else, decided to do that with one of my stories? Regardless of what anyone may think of my stories, I can at least state unequivocally that they are mine, every word agonized over and carefully chosen. Me. Wells cannot say the same.

I apologize for using this editorial as a soapbox, but I felt the above needed saying. Please, fen, don't plagarize [sic]. If you feel the need to rewrite a story — from whatever fandom — at least tell the author and zine editor so. If you plan to release your "new" story into the circuit, acknowledge the title of the story, if not the author, that you are borrowing from. This is only respectful, and respect makes the world go 'round a lot smoother.

Okay, take a deep breath and clear your lungs. Feel better? Me, too.

Some fan comments were printed in Chalk and Cheese #11:

I hope that the plagiarism of her story doesn't sour Ellis Ward on fandom in general. I do look forward to each new story under her by-line. (editor says: -Ellis has responded like a lady. She's ignoring it.-)

On the note of plagiarism: in a fandom which thrives on lifting plots from classic novels, writing sequels to others' sequels, perhaps it was merely considered "borrowing" Ward's story. After all, how can a fan sue another fan for lifting the plot of a story which is already a copyright violation to begin with? I mean, we're all already "stealing," so I guess some fans consider it their privilege to just lift someone else's story.

I think a lot of that mind-set is due to fannish writing not being seen as "real writing" (i.e. legitimate). No money changes hands; no contracts are signed, so it's not like the "real world," is it? Maybe not, but there is still something known as courtesy. And some fans are just more courteous than others.

It was mean-spirited and presumptuous. And bespeaks a rather imperious attitude toward the rank-and-file fans. "Oh, they'll never read this, they're in another fandom."

Not these days with everything lurking in everyone else's computer!

From "On the Double": "blatant is stupid" (June 1992)

The editor of On the Double addressed the then-recent plagiarism incident in On the Double #23 (June 1992):

Editor's note: Plagerism [sic] is not nice, people. In fandom, we sort of operate on the honor system. Sequels are often written by different authors, with the original author's permission. We also often have more than one version of the same story, again, with the original author's permission, or because the same plot was used by different people as an intellectual exercise, (or contest).

But to take a story from one fandom and transfer it to another fandom, making only cosmetic changes and not even acknowledging the original author, never mind bothering to ask permission, is a very different matter. Unfortunately, this has happened very recently.

At the very least, the person who took the story has lost all credibility as a innovator, which is very sad.

Fortunately, two of the three people who were "robbed" chose to react with humor. (The original editor and publisher was not so amused.)

In any case, the person who commissioned the original story asked me to print her letter and I decided that I would. It's only fair, especially since the writer who did the "borrowing" was contacted and feels that what she did was okay, and that she doesn't owe anyone any apology, including her editor, who was unaware that the story in her zine was not original.)

Also in "On the Double," #23 was a response letter by "Kathy":

OPEN LETTER TO FANDOM: It was a dark and stormy night... well, since this is about writers who borrow from other writers, I thought I would borrow a little on my own.

It was two weeks before MediaWest and all through the houses the fans were astirring, every one all. The zines were at printers, or editors were begging authors and artists to finish at last. The anxiety was building as I watched time slow down. First it was two weeks and four days, then two and three, then two and two. Drat, would the time never come.

What was needed, I thought, was a diversion, something to keep the fans talking until the big day arrived. I pondered and pondered and came up with naught. But, this is fandom: it always finds a way to fill the void. My salvation came with a phone call - as is usually the case. (Pac Bell should write paeans of praise to the fannish rumor mill.) It seemed, god forbid, plagiarism had been discovered. Gasp! Gosh! Horrors! This was not your normal plot theft, however, this was grand theft story.

Last year at MediaWest, Ellis Ward was acclaimed by one and all for her story "Breaking Cover", (rightfully nominated this year for a Fan Q award), which was inspired by Suzan Lovett's "The Declassizing of Bodie", or better known as, "Have you seen Page 96A in Chalk and Cheese 8?"

Anyway, what to my amused ears should arrive, but a tale of a story in First Time 31 by Kay Wells that was not just similar, but in which whole paragraphs had been copied verbatim.

Now really, self, I said to myself - that isn't kosher and it isn't fair. Especially since I bought the picture and commissioned the story in the first place. I mean, after all, if you are going to steal, at least be subtle. Subtle is fun - blatant is stupid.

What was Ellis Ward's reaction to all this? "I haven't had such a fun day in a long time. It made my day. All I could picture was Kay Wells retyping the story and going through her thesaurus to find different adjectives."

I would like to thank Kay Wells, author(?) of "Cover Up", for giving us something to talk about and fill up these interminably long two weeks.

On a personal note - Kay, I understand you are an artist as well. May I recommend Suzan Lovett as a role model. If you are going to copy, copy from the best. Sincerely, Kathy

From "Blake, Rabble and Roll": "a bit of a flap" (August 1992)

Less than three months after Mysti Frank's much more forceful statements about the incident in "Chalk and Cheese," she appeared to back off. In her slippery, moralistic editorial to Blake, Rabble and Roll #3 (August 1992), Frank condemned the act of plagiarism but she neglected to name the story or the plagiarist, someone who was, in fact, one of Frank's own contributors, Kay Wells.

Frank's editorial was a pedantic attempt to calm the waters, and it addressed all fen. What Frank does not mention is that she had included two of Kay Wells' illos in the very zine she is writing the editorial for.

Frank was indeed walking a fine line of publicly appearing to take the moral high ground, but doing so without offending fans (especially reliable and robust contributors) who supported her zine empire. Frank wrote:

A bit of a flap sprang into being when someone who enjoyed a story I published in one of my other zines took that story, rewrote it using another fandom, and submitted it to another zine ed, who, not knowing the circumstances, printed it. All without the original author's knowledge or consent. I'm not going to start naming names -- I don't want to start that again. I simply want to make the point that if you plan to borrow someone's work, be they fan or professional, Barbara Cartland or Shakespeare, please notify the author (if possible) and ask permission! When (and only when) given, also tell the zine ed to whom you are submitting the story that it borrows heavily (if not lifts whole paragraphs intact) from another source. Otherwise, fen, what you've done is committed plagiarism, pure and simple.

We 'amateur' writers don't have much, but we've got our stories and they are ours. To have someone steal one behind your back, rewrite it with characters that may not even fit the storyline, and then submit it to an unknowing zine ed, is the worst kind of feeling in the world. Please don't do this. We don't need this kind of tension in any fandom. IDIC's more than just a concept, you know. And the rest is just plain common courtesy.

[snipped]

Welp, that's it for me this time. I hope I raised a few consciences here and didn't piss off too many fen. Hopefully, I'll see you in a year with another great issue of Blake, Rabble and Roll!

From "Be Gentle With Us": "they say there are two sides to every story" (December 1992)

I've just read in the latest Chalk & Cheese zine about a case where someone transposed an Ellis Ward B/D story to the STAR TREK universe, using much of the original text without the author's agreement. Does this happen often? The person who did this claims that they didn't realise that anyone would notice as it was a swap from one fandom to another. They thought that the B/D story would work very well as a K/S story. Has anyone out there had this happen to their work? Seems to me that this should only be done with the consent of the original author. Still, they say there are two sides to every story, so enough said. I just wondered if there were other instances of this that anyone could relate.

From "First Time" (crickets)

The editor of the zine series, First Time, did not address this issue in her zine in any way.

Fans were unable to comment in "First Time" because it was a zine that did not print fans' LoCs.

There were also no comments in the very wordy K/S letterzine of that time, The LOC Connection.

From the Plagiarized Author, Ellis Ward: "such cheek"

From the 1993 interview: Be Gentle With Us Interview: Ellis Ward:

Do you worry about plagiarism?

No. [Though] it's happened to me - in spades. The 'writer' took my PROS story, Breaking Cover, changed the names to Kirk and Spock (Bodie and Doyle, respectively), added a new framing story that reflected the ST universe, then lifted pages of the text virtually verbatim though she did occasionally make a word switch here and there; e.g. 'unlooked for' became 'serendipitous'. Her choice of words didn't always work in my opinion - and a couple of instances, was an improvement. Most amusing of all was reading a review of 'her' story in a KS LOC zine in which the critiquer took Kirk to task for saying something Bodie had said! Such cheek.

Later Comments

From a Mailing List: "considering the massive network of fans" (September 1996)

I was in Pros fandom for three years before the names of circuit story writers were made known. Owing to that, I wrote a sequel to a story without permission because I didn't know who to contact, but was so motivated to write, I didn't think it would be resented. Heard years later that the original author *was* a bit peeved, hadn't agreed at all with the direction my story took, and that she still thought, sometimes, of writing her own sequel. And I have also heard of another writer who, when someone wrote a sequel to his work, gave up his own storyline altogether, too demoralized to contemplate the undertaking.

No one's ever written a sequel to anything I've written (that I know of, anyway). Were someone to do so, I'd be hugely flattered that they'd been so impressed (or annoyed) that they'd felt compelled to continue (or correct) the original... however, it'd probably be kindest to contact the author and request permission before taking over their storyline. And considering the massive network of fans we're all part of, the original author could probably be run to ground without too much difficulty.

From a Mailing List: "whatever happened to fandom is a community" (September 1996)

And anyone who doubts [Ellis'] word about her being flattered if someone went ahead and wrote a sequel to one of her stories, should know the tale of what happened with "Breaking Cover" (in Chalk and Cheese #8). This story was not sequalled - but it was out and out stolen and turned into a K/S story called "Cover Up" which was subsequently published in FIRST TIME #31. Whole portions of "Breaking Cover" were lifted and transplanted into "Cover Up" with only the characters' names changing. I thought I was being so clever when I noticed the similarities between the two and wrote [Ellis] a glowing LOC telling her how pleased I was to discover she was actually Kay Wells. Whereupon she wrote back and said, Excuse me? I'm not! I sent her a copy of the K/S story, and sure enough, she saw with her own eyes how her story had been plagarized by a fairly well-known K/S writer (and artist!). To her credit, [Ellis] was neither angry or upset, but amused and flattered...which considering Kay Wells' response when told she'd been "found out", was a very laid back (and live-and-let-live) response.

[...]

Kay's tack on the whole thing was along the lines of: I didn't do anything wrong; the two fandoms don't overlap too much so there wasn't much chance in getting caught; I don't owe anyone an apology. Being a much more confrontational type A personality, I'd have crucified her! Kay was lucky she picked on [Ellis] then, and not me!

This is the most disgusting thing I've read in a long time. This is nothing more or less than theft, something miles away from mere sequelling

I'm with you, if it had been me I'd had written to every mailing list, APA and letterzine I could have got my hands on. I'd have told every editor, every fan and every Newsgroup and mailing list I could find.

[...]

I intend to inquire of every editor before I buy a zine whether or not it includes anything by Kay Wells because if it does I won't buy it, neither will I submit work for publication in any zine in which her work appears.

Hell, whatever happened to fandom is a community or am I just being naive again (as usual)? GRRRRRR! - [K] - who goes to extravagant lengths to avoid even the merest hint of plagiarism herself and so hates it elsewhere.

PS - Okay so I'm being a bit self-righteous but really.........

From a Mailing List: "very rare, though" (November 1996)

There have been a couple of occasions [of plagiarism in fandom]. There was a fan famous for making 'copies' of her own work to get trib copies. I.e., taking her first story, changing the names, and universe details, and sending it to a new zine. I don't think this is plagiarism, but it is definitely cheating or misrepresentation.

There was also a fairly recent incident (someone else has referred to this) where someone took a Ellis Ward story, changed the characters to K/S, and tribbed it to a Trek zine. Definitely plagiarism.

Both of these are very rare, though.

From a Mailing List: "remember that fan?" (September 1997)

So you're reading a new story.

And you're liking it, it's by a fan friend and you usually like what she writes, and you know she puts time and effort into her stories. And it's in a fandom you love. In fact, you and the author bonded over the fandom, in the first flush of love, and you have the same one in the pairing who's your most beloved.

And you used to send e-mail to each other back in that first flush, talking about the fandom, kicking around your story ideas because you were both working on stories, dissecting eps and character development and all that. In fact, maybe you even sent drafts of paragraphs or whole pages, back and forth, for feedback. And maybe you even got into that sappy music thing, talking about songs that inspired your writing, or lyrics that describe your character, etc. You know, you were being *fans*.

And then you start reading the new story, the completed, just-published final draft story, and you're really getting into it, when you suddenly come across something that sounds vaguely familiar. In fact, it sounds really familiar. It sounds like a bit of pithy character description that you sent Fan Friend back when you first started e-mailing. Or a great bit of dialog. Something that you loved, that you were going to use in your story, which of course you haven't finished yet. Fan Friend beat you to it.

So. How do you view this? Do you get pissed? Do you believe this is this plagiarism or stealing of some kind?

Do you consider that stuff yours for your story, and you send them an e-mail saying, hey, wasn't that *my* dialog/pithy character description/beautifully nuanced descriptive passage about the beauty of our BSO? Do you drop them a short note saying, "What a wonderful job you did, and my, that was a nifty use of that stuff I wrote initially?"

Or do you view it as fannish sharing, nurturing, and since the story's a gift to fandom, you just shrug and say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Or you drop them an e-mail and say, "Hey, I *loved* what you did with that stuff we were kicking around, and even though I wanted to use it, it looks great in your story!" And send smiley faces? Do you think it's okay? Good writing is good writing?

Just curious... hypothetically speaking, of course.

The primary factor for me would be the content of that dialog/description. If I'd actually written that section out completely and it appeared *verbatim* in this person's story (particularly if I still had the snippet), then I'd be mighty ticked off. I think I'd send them an email and ask them about it point blank.

However, if it's *close* to what I wrote, but not word for word, well... I'd still probably be ticked off, since there'd be a history of discussing the topic with that person. It gets a little murky when something is "not quite" but almost like something else. Hell, I've read too many slash stories with similar (and good) descriptions of this or that, but are still distinctive. One would think there'd be a stylistic difference if nothing else. I mean, these hypothetical fans have different writing styles, yes?

Ripping somebody else off like that doesn't work (ethical considerations aside) because you just wind up sounding like somebody else! I would assume most writers want to develop their own 'voice,' if you know what I mean. Seems fairly pointless, at the very least.

Remember that fan that ripped off Ellis Ward's Pros story verbatim and turned it into a K/S story? She must've crawled away to hide under a rock for the remainder of her fannish life.

A Weird Mystery: "copy from the best"

In June 1992, a fan in On the Double #24 scolded Kay Wells and ended her comments with "On a personal note - Kay, I understand you are an artist as well. May I recommend Suzan Lovett as a role model. If you are going to copy, copy from the best."

Either Kay Wells used a photo reference in 1992 for a K/S illo and Suzan Lovett used the same photo reference eight years later for her due South illo. Or something else happened here.

• 

  by Kay Wells: the back cover of the K/S zine, First Time #34 (1992)

• 

  "Holding Beauty" by Suzan Lovett: the front cover of the due South zine, Thank You Kindly (2000)