There was a certain synchronicity in my reading this past week.
First of all there was an article in the newspaper about the Swedish crime writer Camilla Lackberg. I've not read any of her novels though she is an internationally respected bestselling author. This article suggested that her most recent work may not be her own, however. She is believed to have engaged a ghostwriter, although she is denying this is the case.
A couple of days later I went to the cinema to see 'The Lesson', a film about a writer. I knew nothing about it beforehand and only hoped it would be an easy distraction and light entertainment. Its subject was a novelist who believed that 'good writers borrow, great writers steal'. And the film explored just how far the central character was prepared to go in following that mindset.
Finally, I was reading a John Boyne novel. It was a title I'd picked at random, as further research for my interview with him at Southwold Literary Festival next month. I'd chosen 'A Ladder to the Sky', published four years ago. Again it was about a writer, and again it was about someone who seemed to have no qualms about taking life experiences told him in confidence and turning them into works of fiction to further his own career.
As the debate about intellectual ownership continues apace with AI, I found it interesting to explore in these different ways how ideas are discovered and developed, and how we as the recipients respond. We are always keen to know the inspiration which led to a creative piece of work and we don't mind if there is collaboration of some sort, but I think we all would like it to be attributed and acknowledged?
Thank you for reading.