J.K. ROWLING INTERVEIW
How did the idea come to you for Harry Potter?
I was taking a long train journey from Manchester to London in England and the idea for
Harry just came into my head. At that point it was especially important for the idea for a
boy who didn't know he was a wizard, and the wizard school he ended up journeying to.
How long did it take to write the first book of the Harry Potter Books?
5 years, although during that time I was also planning and writing parts for the next six
sequels.
Did you plan to write Harry's story in more than one book? If so, how many of them?
I always planned it as a seven book series because I predicted that it would take seven
years from the ages of 11-17, inclusive, to train as a wizard, and each of the books
would deal with a year of Harry's life at the wizarding school of Hogwarts.
Harry Potter was first successful in England, and then in the United States. Where else
has Harry Potter been released? What things do they have in common and/or differences
have you found in the response to Harry Potter in different countries? And, since each of
the editions is packaged differently, do you have a favorite book?
Harry is now published, in Britain, America, Brazil, Holland, France, Germany, Italy,
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and
Japan. My favorite cover is the American one. I am very much hoping to meet the
illustrator, Mary Grandpre, but I also love the Dutch's edition cover.
Are you excited about the movie rights Warner Brothers have purchased for Harry
Potter? Where else might we see Harry Potter in the future (toys, video games,)?
I am very excited and a little bit nervous about "Harry Potter the Movie." Warner
Brothers have merchandising rights, so it is possible that we will be seeing Harry Potter
toys soon.
Did you always want to be an author?
Yes, ever since the age of five or six, when I wrote my first book a story about a rabbit
which was called Rabbit.
Where, when, and how do you like to write?
Any time, any place, and longhand!
What books and authors did you read as a kid and teenager? Which are your biggest
influences on your books?
I admire E. Nesbit, Paul Gallico and C.S. Lewis the most. My favorite book as a child
was The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.'
If you were not writing, what profession would you be in?
Well, as you can see by the answer from the previous question, I would be at a dead
loss. Profession wise, I would still be teaching, which I enjoyed very much.
What did you have to do to make sure readers could start with "Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets" and not be confused about what was happening?
It's becoming more of a challenge to keep new readers up to date with every new Harry
book (I'm currently writing the fourth). In the case of Chamber of Secrets, matters were
relatively easy and straightforward; I tried to introduce information about Harry and his
first year at Hogwarts in as understandable way as possible. However, by the time I
reach books five or six, this is going to be much harder because of the years in between.
It makes me think of "previously on ER..." when you have to watch thirty minutes of clips
to be able to understand that week's episode. Maybe I'll just write a preface: "previously
in Harry Potter..." and tell readers to go back and read books 1 - 4 if they have not
already!
What does your daughter think of your work so far? What books do you and like to
read with her? And her to read on her own someday?
She is still too young for me to read the Harry Potter books to her, but I am really
looking forward to a time when I can read them with her. She loves the Beatrix Potter
books and I recently read her The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis ,
which she greatly enjoyed.
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