Plagiarism: "Breaking Cover" and "Cover Up"

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"===
===From "Cover Up"===
==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..." from Chalk and Cheese #11 
* 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" from Chalk and Cheese #11 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." from the editorial of Chalk and Cheese #10 (May 1992) 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": 
Some fan comments were printed in Chalk and Cheese #11: 
 
 
===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): 
Also in "On the Double," #23 was a response letter by "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: 
===From "Be Gentle With Us": "they say there are two sides to every story" (December 1992)===
===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:
===Later Comments===
====From a Mailing List: "considering the massive network of fans" (September 1996)====
====From a Mailing List: "whatever happened to fandom is a community" (September 1996)====
====From a Mailing List: "very rare, though" (November 1996)====
====From a Mailing List: "remember that fan?" (September 1997)====
==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.
File:Firsttime 34 back.jpg|by Kay Wells: the back cover of the K/S zine, First Time #34 (1992) 
File:You Pay Cover by S Lovett small.jpg|"Holding Beauty" by Suzan Lovett: the front cover of the due South zine, Thank You Kindly (2000)
==References==
Category:Scandals
Category:1992 Events
Category:Zine Fandom