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J.K. Rowling Recalls When Harry Potter Became a Phenomenon: “It Went Crazy”
Record-breaking author J.K. Rowling has recently reflected on the moment she first realized that her creation, Harry Potter, had become a global phenomenon.
Rowling’s seven-book series, chronicling the adventures of Harry and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has sold over 500 million copies worldwide and spawned a film franchise worth more than $10 billion. However, back in 1997, when her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (titled ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ in the U.S.), was published, the future was far from certain.
Speaking to The Sunday Times newspaper, Rowling recalled how it all seemed like a blur until she won the Smarties Book Prize in 1997. “Then I got a record advance from America, and everything went crazy.”
The journey to that point was a long one. Rowling took seven years to complete the first book and see it published. She admitted to often losing hope, putting the manuscript away multiple times. “I kept losing hope and putting it away, but that happened less and less as I worked on it. At a certain point it, or I, caught fire, and I stopped doubting,” she said. One of the most memorable moments for her was writing the first Quidditch match, which she described as flowing out of the pen and needing barely any revisions.
Rowling has always had a passion for writing, a dream that rooted in her childhood. She vividly remembers the first books that sparked her imagination, including Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy World and Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.
