By LJ Staff

A recent admission of plagiarism continues to haunt Doris Kearns Goodwin. The best-selling historian announced March 4 that she was removing herself from the panel of judges for the Pulitzer Prize, which she holds. In a letter to the Pulitzer committee, Goodwin wrote in part: "Because I am so distracted by the media focus on my work, I do not feel capable of giving the considerable time needed to make the proper judgements." The Pulitzer board additionally said it would have to determine "what action, if any," would be taken about Goodwin's future inclusion as a judge in light of the plagiarism admission. Goodwin also has backed off from her appearances in the TV program NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and the University of Delaware recently yanked her as a commencement speaker.