Nate the Great vs Emily Strange update

For those who have been reading my Rosamunde/Emily Strange posts, apparently the author and illustrator did NOT know about the uncanny overlap between Emily Strange and Nate The Great text and illustration.

Marc Simont writes:

“Thank you for your interest in the Emily the Strange caper, which I just learned about a few days ago. Marjorie Sharmat, the author, and I have referred it to the legal department of the publisher. We have not had any contact with Cosmic Debris. Marjorie has the rights to the text and I have the rights to the illustrations. The illustrations are copyrighted in my name.”

Kudos to Chelsea of You Thought We Wouldn't Notice for writing to Mr. Simont and letting him know.

Whatever comes of this, hopefully sales of the Nate The Great series (which I loved as a child, by the way) will get a boost from all this publicity.