Writer Beware: Is Someone Using Your Name Without Your Knowledge?

Everyone, not just writers, should regularly search on their names to see what’s out there.

I recently decided to enter a writing competition. The name of the individual listed as the judge was one I’d not previously come across. So I Googled him, as you do. As usually happens, the first result was from Wikipedia. This gave me an outline of his career, his books, awards for which he had been nominated, and a list of the publications to which he has contributed. At the bottom, among the sources cited, I found a link to a website.

Following the link I found what I at first took to be the writer’s own website. But something didn’t seem right. The biographical details tallied but the language was not what you would expect from a professional writer. It seemed more like the work of someone for whom English was a second language. Exploring further, clicking on ‘recent posts’, I found articles in which this, to say the…