Skip to main content

Does J.K. Rowling deny writing fantasy?



From this article (about the recent protest from SFF authors against BBC's discriminatory behaviour).



JK Rowling sadly felt she had to deny she was writing fantasy with her Harry Potter series – although as Terry Pratchett responded: “I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds, jumping chocolate frogs, owl mail, magic food, ghosts, broomsticks and spells would have given her a clue?”



Can anybody supply references to this? Was this because she did not want to label her works as fantasy?



Answer



J. K. Rowling has stated that she doesn't like fantasy, and it didn't occur to her that Harry Potter was fantasy until after she had written it, according to a 2005 interview with Time Magazine.



The most popular living fantasy writer in the world doesn't even especially like fantasy novels. It wasn't until after Sorcerer's Stone was published that it even occurred to her that she had written one. "That's the honest truth," she says. "You know, the unicorns were in there. There was the castle, God knows. But I really had not thought that that's what I was doing. And I think maybe the reason that it didn't occur to me is that I'm not a huge fan of fantasy." Rowling has never finished The Lord of the Rings. She hasn't even read all of C.S. Lewis' Narnia novels, which her books get compared to a lot.


...



Hang on--other things? It's disconcerting to think of Rowling stepping out on Harry and the gang with another set of characters. But at least we can say Harry is Rowling's last wizard. From here on out, it's Muggles only. "I think I can say categorically that I will not write another fantasy after Harry," she says, making herself and her publicists, who hover nearby, visibly nervous. "Wait, now I'm panicking. Oh, my God! Yes, I'm sure I can say that. I think I will have exhausted the possibilities of that. For me." Beyond that, she isn't giving away many clues, but she's approaching the project with her usual ruthless skepticism. "We'll have to see if it's good enough to be published. I mean, that is a real concern, obviously, because the first thing I write post Harry could be absolutely dreadful, and, you know, people will buy it. So, you know, you're left with this real insecurity."



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

game of thrones - Who were the Kingsguard escorting Cersei?

Now to the question... During the scene where Cersei sits on the Iron Throne and is "sworn in" we see her escorted by seven members of the Kingsguard. Now this is what I would expect as that is the correct number. However, I have no idea who they are ! [embedded content] The books pay more attention to detail in this area, but the show is also diverging and outpacing in this regard. We can see that a few of the names are not possible on the show. I have listed the names from the books and given why the reason they could not be members on the show in bold. Ser Jaime Lannister, Lord Commander - Stripped of title Ser Loras Tyrell - Dead and also was never a KG on the show. Ser Osmund Kettleblack - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Balon Swann - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Meryn Trant - Dead Ser Boros Blount - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Robert Strong (aka Zombie Mountain) - Confirmed I know it can be confusing mixing the books and shows, but the qu
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - Was Barty Crouch Jr. an Occlumens?

An Occlumens is a practitioner of Occlumency , while Occlumency means closing the mind. Despite being in the same school with two great Legilimens (Dumbledore and Snape), he was only discovered to be an impostor after the last round of the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire : “Moody,” Harry said. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. “How can it have been Moody?” “This is not Alastor Moody,” said Dumbledore quietly. “You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew — and I followed.” Does this mean that Barty Crouch Jr. is an Occlumens? Because if not, then Snape or Dumbledore would have found it out earlier, right? Answer It is not stated anywhere in the books that Legilimency was applied to fake Moody/Crouch jr. The conclusion Dumbledore made (quoted in the question) is based on pure logic, not Legilimency or any other magical means. So unless any other canon inform
Post a Comment
Read more

transformers - How do Soundwave, Megatron, etc. change size and mass?

The original G1 Soundwave changed from a cassette deck (don't know what it is? Ask your parents!) to a robot that was the same size as robots that changed into cars. Similarly, Megatron changed into a gun that could be held by humans. And other robots, all of similar sizes, changed into objects of different sizes: cassettes, cars, trucks and huge jets. (One Autobot triple changer, Broadside , changed from an aircraft to an aircraft carrier!) Was this impossible feat ever explained? Or was it hand-wavey magic, like the Hulk ? Answer Although there wasn't even an acknowledgement of changes in size in the animated shows (i.e. that's just how things were), there have been a few explanations within comics. The ones listed and described by the Teletraan I Transformers Wiki are as follows: Parts compression (from Dreamwave comics): The notion that the Transformers in question, such as Astrotrain and Broadside, had many dense layers of armor in robot mode, which then slid ou
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Was It 'Essential' That Voldemort Kill Harry Potter?

‘So the boy ... the boy must die?’ asked Snape, quite calmly. ‘And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.’ Deathly Hallows - page 551 - UK Hardcover - chapter 33, The Prince's Tale Dumbledore tells Snape it is 'essential' that Voldemort be the one to kill Harry, I'm assuming in order for the piece of Voldemort's soul in Harry to be properly killed as well. But why? Hermione destroyed the Hufflepuff cup; Ron destroyed the Slytherin locket; Neville killed Nagini; Harry destroyed the diadem and Tom Riddle's diary. So the Horcruxes were not immune to destruction at the hand of someone other than Voldemort. And as it ended up, Harry himself wasn't even a Horcrux, but rather just an unknowing host to a parasitic bit of Voldemort's soul. Why was it 'essential' that Voldemort be the one to kill Harry in order for the piece of Voldemort's soul to die? Answer I thought it had to do with the protection Harry's mother gave him b
Post a Comment
Read more