Marve Michael Anson Was Accused of Plagiarism by Fellow Author Lauren M. Davis

The Gist:

• Author Lauren M. Davis has accused fellow writer Marve Michael Anson of plagiarism.
• Lauren reached out to Marve with a DM before making a public statement on X/Twitter.
• Lauren's accusation has been met with severe criticism.

In any form of fiction writing, there's bound to be plenty of overlap between writers. No story can be said to be truly original from the first to the last page, and that's totally fine! Writers can draw inspiration from plenty of other stories and popular tropes and, understandably, multiple creators may dip their fingers into the same sources. In recent book news, however, one author seems to have taken this concept a little too personally.

In late December 2023, author Lauren M. Davis accused fellow writer Marve Michael Anson of plagiarism. Lauren audaciously claimed that Marve was using perceived similar concepts from Lauren's own published book in her own writing. However, the act in question is so negligible that backlash has been targeted at Lauren instead. Here's what's been going down.

On Dec. 15, 2023, Marve tweeted about Firstborn of the Sun, an upcoming West African Yoruba-inspired story about a young warrior born into a society that draws on the sun to perform fantastical feats.

While she was excited to share some progress on her new story, her reveal earned the ire of Lauren M. Davis, who immediately replied in the comments.

"She wouldn't happen to have the power to wield the sun now, would she?" Lauren asked on Twitter.

When Marve confirmed that her character does have these powers, Lauren replied that she'd sent her a DM.

Almost immediately after this interaction, Lauren began posting on her own Twitter accusing her of plagiarism.

"I have tried to reach out to you privately regarding copyright infringement, but have received no response. Please take your tweet down," Lauren demanded.

As for the "infringement" in question, Lauren shared an example in which a protagonist in her book, Nova's Playlist, also controls the power of the sun.

However, many folks on Twitter have since criticized Lauren for her accusation. Users have cited the consistent use of sun powers in popular fiction to discredit Lauren's claims.

"You can't copyright a trope or a simple idea like that," one person tweeted.

Another person wrote, "I'm having a very hard time believing that this is the first time you've seen another character who can control the sun."

Following her initial accusation, Lauren has since kept herself busy responding to other Twitter users who have accused her in turn of racism and rage baiting. She has even tried to back up her claims with other forms of evidence but has continued receiving backlash.

As for Marve, she has seemingly blocked Lauren on social media and has elected to focus on her own work and career as an author.