Karl "King" Wenclas, publicity director of the Underground Literary Alliance, is trying to get the word out that he thinks writer Tom Bissell lifted some passages in a 2002 Harper's article.

Using lots of crisis language ("I've decided to put up the controversial Tom Bissell Harper's excerpts..."), he's claiming that Bissell's essay, "Chasing the Sea," bears an uncanny resemblance to Murray Feshbach's 1993 book, Ecocide in the USSR.

More interesting than the allegations of passage pilfering though, is Wenclas' innovative (to us, anyway) shake-down technique. He's emailed several prominent lit bloggers and journals and is now keeping a Lit-Blogger Backbone Watch, to track who has and has not responded to his urgent emails.

Maud Newton: No Response.
Chris/ Spike Magazine: No Response.
Mark Sarvas/ Elegant Variations: No Response.
Agni: No Response.
Harper's: No Response.
The Believer: No Response.


Dude, maybe everyone's busy. Or, maybe they're planning your surprise party, and you're about to ruin it!
Lit-Blogger Backbone Watch, Day One [Attacking The Demi-Puppets]
Tom Bissell, Plagiarist? [Galley Cat]
Tom Bissell: Author Page [McSweeney's]
ULA interview