I couldn’t help but post this up, even if it’s a little late: Austen resubmitted.

David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath decided to find out what sort of reception the writer might get if she approached publishers and agents in the age of Harry Potter and the airport blockbuster.

After making only minor changes, he sent off opening chapters and plot synopses to 18 of the UK’s biggest publishers and agents. He was amazed when they all sent the manuscripts back with polite but firm “no-thank-you’s” and almost all failed to spot that he was ripping off one of the world’s most famous literary figures.

This sounds uncannily like Why You Will Never Get Published (Through Traditional Outlets) Today – a very depressing post wrapped around a very depressing Guardian Unlimited article.

If publishers refuse to publish Austen … God knows who else they’re refusing to publish.