A stolen novel. A new title. A cast of renamed characters. And one sharp-eyed reader who spotted the literary heist. Now, four years after discovering her work had been stolen in 2022, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig is breaking her silence with Christine & Salt on 96.5 TIC.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But what happens when someone takes that sentiment a little too literally — and steals your entire book? In 2022, Willig found herself at the center of a real-life literary scandal worthy of its own novel. Someone had taken her debut, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, changed the title, swapped out the characters' names, and attempted to publish it as an original work. There was just one rather inconvenient detail: They hadn't actually written the book. The scheme began to unravel when a sharp-eyed reader received an advance copy of the supposedly new novel and recognized Willig's work beneath its thin disguise. The title was different. The names were different. But the story was unmistakably hers. For Willig, the discovery was devastating. She describes the experience as "gutting," and in the four years that followed, she rarely spoke publicly about what had happened. Now, in 2026, she's finally ready to revisit the ordeal — and explain why the publishing world's newest controversy has made her look at that 2022 theft in an entirely different light.
A sharp-eyed reader spotted The Secret History of the Pink Carnation hiding in plain sight after receiving an advance copy of the stolen book!
A sharp-eyed reader spotted The Secret History of the Pink Carnation hiding in plain sight after receiving an advance copy of the stolen book!
