Day of the Imprisoned Writer: Nelson Aguilera

Luisa Valenzuelas open letter to a writer sentenced to jail in Paraguay for allegedly plagiarising a novel

News: Leading authors mount international protest to defend persecuted colleagues

Dear Nelson Aguilera,

I want to extend to you my complete support as well as that of many of my colleagues. Your trial is reminiscent of a witch hunt, far removed from all literary debate. Along with the experts, I believe that there has been absolutely no plagiarism, but rather a similar approach to topics that are in the public domain. And since time is the subject of your book, let us imagine HG Wells former president of PEN International passing judgment on María Eugenia Garay [who brought the case of plagiarism against Aguilera]; as if intertextuality werent often part of literary creation.

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