In 2008, J. K. Rowling refused to allow a Finnish publisher, Tammi, to print Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows because the paper they used was not Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. Although Tammi printed the Harry Potter series on recycled paper, Rowling wanted even more environmentally friendly paper at that time.
Harry Potter
Editing Across Continents
By Sarah Eggleston
Publishing internationally can be tricky. A manuscript can take years of dedication from one team in one publishing house to edit, promote, and publish. Now imagine what happens when that same manuscript is being worked on by two separate teams across the ocean from each other. Each side has to try to keep track of changes being made by the other, and in some cases changes in vernacular or slang terms are made deliberately to maintain meaning across regions.
When YA Book Fandom Creates Active & Influential Communities
By Joanna Szabo @Joanna_Shwaba
Fandoms surrounding the favorite books of teenagers have been a prominent part of culture since the Harry Potter books. Now, most well-loved series have some kind of derivative fandom surrounding them, but the Harry Potter fandom is by far the most expansive example of this. Years ago, Harry Potter fans pushed past the creation of art, parody musicals, and actual sports, and they went a step further by channeling their love for the books into the creation of an activist group.
Twitter Interactions with Famous Authors and How to Deal
By Joanna Szabo
Even though social media theoretically closes the distance between an author and their readers, it sometimes seems to me that the opposite is true. Just looking at a particularly famous author’s feed, I’m highly aware of the statistical improbability of actually getting their attention on Twitter. As of early October, J. K. Rowling had 8.44 […]
How to Cope When Your Spouse Only Reads Game of Thrones
By Amylia Ryan amylia_ryan
“That’s a lie,” he says. “I also read Harry Potter.” And that’s generally all my husband reads. Don’t get me wrong, he’s tried reading other books (other genres, even!), but none of them held his interest past the first chapter. And he has his own reasoning for it. “I can only read books when I […]
Pottermore and Publishing: A Look at the Multimedia Empire of Harry Potter
By Hope Levy
Harry Potter is a name almost immediately recognizable today in 2016—whether your first thought is of a lightning scar, the Marauder’s Map, or the volume of fans across the world who have for years celebrated the cultural phenomenon that J. K. Rowling’s wizarding world became. On the first day alone, 8.3 million books were sold […]