Plagiarism Protection in Publishing – What narratiQ Can Do
Der Spiegel recently reported on plagiarism allegations against Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag, where a Romantasy author accused the publisher of appropriating her ideas. Addressing this kind of internal plagiarism is notoriously difficult. At narratiQ, our manuscript analysis software, we’ve developed a solution to give publishers greater confidence during the manuscript review process—specifically when it comes to identifying similarities or thematic overlaps with existing works.
How does it work? During the analysis, we cross-reference manuscripts against multiple databases to detect comparable books, regardless of whether they were self-published or traditionally published. If a work has been reviewed or sold on any online platform, we can integrate it into our competitive analysis.
In our interview with Börsenblatt, we hinted at the possibility of deeper similarity analysis if publishers cross-check their own backlist titles with narratiQ. This is the next logical step: A publisher that uploads its published works into the system once will automatically receive an assessment of thematic similarities for every new submission. Not as an accusation—but as an early warning system.
The case at Thienemann-Esslinger highlights how fragile the trust between authors and publishers is—and how costly it can be when that trust is broken. Reputational damage, legal battles, public debates. narratiQ can’t prevent this entirely. But we can help publishers see more clearly—and act earlier during the manuscript review phase. For more details, visit: narratiq.de
Posted Feb 22, 2026, 5:06 PM UTC