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.
JK Rowling
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 […]
Publishing with a Small Press: A Stepping-Stone to Greatness
By TJ Carter
Where do great writers come from? Did Ernest Hemingway suddenly appear to us as a best-selling author, like gray-eyed Athena from mighty Zeus’s head? Did John Steinbeck begin his career by landing a multimillion-dollar book deal with a publishing conglomerate? Nope. These authors—and most of your favorites—got off to a more modest start. Hemingway’s first […]
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 […]