Russia's Tanya Grotter 'copies Potter's magic'

Lawyers for J K Rowling have accused a Russian author of plagiarising Harry Potter with stories about an 11-year-old girl called Tanya Grotter with her magical double bass.

They want the Russian writer, Dmitry Yemets, to stop publication of his stories, which they say bear a notable resemblance to Rowling's own.

Yemets' heroine not only shares a similar name to Potter. She, too, is an orphan, wears glasses and has an unusual mark on her face – a mole on her nose instead of a scar.

And like the Potter books, which have sold 1.2 million copies in Russia, the Grotter series is full of fanciful magic words that set spells in motion.

The first Grotter book, Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass, sold about 100,000 copies and a second, Tanya Grotter and the Disappearing Floor was published last week. Two more are planned for this year. They cost about half the price of a Potter in Russia.

Yemets, a philologist, said his work was "entirely independent". But he also said it was meant in part as a parody of the Harry Potter series, with roots in Russian culture and folklore. "It's a sort of Russian answer to Harry Potter," he said.

Alexei Shekhov, a spokesman for the publisher, Eksmo, said the demands from Rowling's lawyers for the books to be withdrawn were "stupid and impudent". He added: "This baseless accusation of plagiarism is no reason for us to carry out their wishes."

Neil Blair, lawyer and business manager for Christopher Little, Rowling's British literary agent, said: "I would suggest that anyone who compares the books will agree that the facts of this case speak for themselves."

A "cease and desist letter" alleging violation of intellectual property rights had been sent to Eksmo, he added.

Rowling, a multimillionaire thanks to her bespectacled young wizard, has encountered publishing difficulties of her own. She was cleared this year of plagiarising Nancy Stouffer, an American writer, who claimed that Rowling stole ideas from her children's books.