Master Froggy's
Encyclopaedia
Press Club 20 October 1999
J.K. Rowling Interview Transcript
Transcript Courtesy Sugarquill.net's Transcription Project
[Press Club Intro] Sean Bowler: Following custom, I will introduce our guest, she will then offer us some magical insight to her new book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. [Info on questions and book signings, etc.]
A while ago I read in the New York Times that Harry Potter was destined for greatness. Forgive me for my ignorance, but early this year, I had no idea who Harry Potter was. My wife and I had twins about five months ago. I did know one thing – J. K. Rowling and her young wizard with the lightening bolt scar was taking America by storm. Whether on the train to work, in the bookstore, or on the phone with my twelve-year old nephew, everyone was raving about this bespectacled kid named Harry Potter. I kid you not, recently a complete stranger on the train begged me to take his business card and get it signed by our guest so he could give it to his son, and I do have it in my pocket, and it is signed! So that PR executive from New Jersey will have it in the mail in the next couple of days.
It’s only appropriate that as if by magic, Harry Potter seems to have appeared out of nowhere. It is if one day, we were without the centuries old Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the next, America couldn’t imagine life without Harry Potter. And as if having over five million books in circulation isn’t enough, and both kids and adults clamoring for her books, our guest has captured the triple crown of publishing – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and today’s book have rocketed to the top three best seller slots in recent weeks. In short, Harry Potter’s Hocus Pocus has catapulted our guest near legendary status. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, best selling children’s author, winner of rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, and creator of Harry Potter,
J. K. Rowling. [applause]
J. K. Rowling Thank you very much. Thank you very much. It’s really wonderful to be here. Um, I’m going to do a short reading for you, and then take questions. I like them best. I’m sorry, I know you’re the people, I like them best. I’m playing to the gallery today. Um, so a brief reading now. I’m actually going to do a reading from the first book, Sorcerer’s Stone. There’s a very practical reason for this, I have a good short reading in this one, and we don’t have that much time, and I really would like to spend the time answering questions, so I think that would be better. So, um, this is the moment when Harry buys his most important piece of equipment for Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is of course, his wand, what else? This is what happens in the wand shop, um, Harry has gone there with Hagrid, who is one of my favorite characters – you know, the giant gamekeeper from the school, and he’s about to meet Mr. Ollivander, the famous wand maker.
[Reading]
*lets out gasp and closes book* [everyone laughs and applauds] Okay… right, we’re doing questions?
Sean Bowler Yes. It sounds so much better when you’re reading it. The first question – did you write the book for children or adults?
J. K. Rowling Um, I wrote it for me… so both, because I wrote something that I knew I would like to read now, but I also wrote something that I knew I would’ve like to have read at age ten. So, I never really wrote with anyone in mind, I still don’t write with an imaginary focus group in mind. I have been asked time without number, why are the books so popular? And the tru– and I don’t want to analyze that. I don’t want to decide that there’s a formula, I really don’t want to look at that too closely, cause I want to carry on writing them the way I want to write them, and not, um, you know, start trying to put ingredient X in there. It’s for other people to decide that, not me, I think.
Sean Bowler Several have asked, how did you come up with Quidditch?
J. K. Rowling Oh, Quidditch. *half laugh* The irony of me inventing a sport – I managed to break my arm playing netball, which as you know is not a famous contact sport. Um, I decided that if the wizards had this whole secret society, things going on, I was thinking of things that unify a society, and that one thing would have to be a sport, and that would be an opportunity for the wizards to meet, in secret, and all – you know – congregate together. It would just be too difficult for them to congregate and watch baseball, or something. We’d notice. They’d get upset, they’d fire their wands off and stuff in the crowd; that wouldn’t work, so they have to have their own sport. So, um, I had a lot of fun making up the rules for Quidditch. Seen so far it’s a dangerous game, and I’d be appalling at it, but it’s something to think about.
Sean Bowler When did you start writing the books?
J. K. Rowling Um, I had the idea for Harry in 1990, so I’ve now been writing about him for nine years. And by the time I finish the seven book, I’ll be writing about him for thirteen years. So… it’s going to feel like a bereavement, I know, when I write the end of book seven, it’s going to be a really – I’m going to be heart broken. But, um, that’s what I planned, and that’s what I’m going to do, so…
Sean Bowler Where do you get the inspiration?
J. K. Rowling *exasperated sound* Well, if I knew I’d go and live there. But I have no idea. I get asked that a lot, and I – sometimes I have to say, well, where do you get your ideas from? And it’s really – the problem with turning it around like that is sometimes people know. [laughter] So that one doesn’t work, you think you’re being really clever doing that. “Well, here’s what inspi-” Oh, no… So in truth, most of the ideas just come, um, I have to work hard for some of them normally it’s a process… twist of logic. I do remember nine and three quarters. I wanted it to be a secret place in a real station, and if you follow that thought through, you think hidden platform, and if you follow that thought through, it’s got to be between two real platforms, and you end up with a fraction. And I just picked nine and three quarters because it sounded like a – you know – cool number! So, you know, sometimes I remember the thought process I follow to get somewhere, but other things just do pop up.
Sean Bowler Several have asked about the movie.
J. K. Rowling Uh, yeah, right… the – where we are in the movie is the script is nearly finished – um, director should be chosen by the end of the year, the film should be ready summer of 2001, they’re telling me. So um, I can’t wait to see Quidditch. That’s the bit I’m really, really looking forward to seeing that – I’ve told them, and they grinned nervously.
Sean Bowler Can you imagine Harry ever growing up?
J. K. Rowling Um… *exasperated sound* Always, you see I have this… for five years, I was writing about Harry, and I never spoke about it to anyone except my sister, I told her the story of the first book, but she’d never read it, so all this stuff’s going on in my head, so it’s such an incredible thing for me now to be somewhere like this, for people to be interested in talking about it, cause I didn’t have that opportunity at all for five or six years. But the frustrating thing is I can’t tell you stuff, because it will ruin the rest of the books. So… I’m going to have to pass on that question, cause I do know exactly what’s going to happen to Harry in book 7, and I’m not going to tell you. [audience laughs]
Sean Bowler This one is obviously from one of our guests in the peanut gallery there, because it’s Xed out words and letters, but it says “Have you written your next book? What happens next, please tell me.” [laughter]
J. K. Rowling I think you should be very offended by that ‘peanut gallery’ remark, frankly. Um… my book 4 is – I’m going to be finishing when I get home. It’s not too far off completion, and I do know what happens, and I’m not going to tell you that either. [laughter] Um, I’m trying to think of something I can – you see the Quidditch World Cup in book 4, which is Ireland versus Bulgaria. [laughter] Which I like. England got knocked out by Transylvania, which is a bit upsetting. And… I actually said this in Scotland; this boy put up his hand and said “What happened to Scotland?” and I said “Well, you were slaughtered by Luxemburg,” and he wasn’t happy. [laughter] They take it really – “What, Luxemburg, they’re rubbish!” “How do you know what they’re like at Quidditch?” Um… yes, so you see that, but if you saw on the internet, because evil wizards have infiltrated the internet and put on there that the title of book 4 is ‘Harry Potter and the Quidditch World Cup’, and that’s not true. They’re just messing with your mind! [laughter] It’s not true at all. But I’m not going to tell you the title; cause I’m a bit superstitious about that, I like to keep it a secret until the book’s finished.
Sean Bowler One of our teachers has asked, my students and I wonder if there is any significance to you signing your books with just your initials?
J. K. Rowling Uh, yeah, this one’s a funny one. That wasn’t my choice. When I finished my um, my copy of the manuscript, I put Joanne Rowling on there, that being my name and all. And uh, then my publisher, my British publisher, phoned me up two months before the first book was published and said “We’d like you to use your initials.” And I said – and – to be frank, I would’ve let them call me Enid Snodgrass if they published the book. So, I really wasn’t that… with it, my gratitude was such that I said, “Well, okay, fine, but why?” And they said – first of all they said, “We think it looks more striking,” and I said “Why, really?” and they said, well, we think boys will like this book, but we’re not sure that they’d pick it if they knew a woman wrote it.” *noise of understanding* Mmm…. [laughter] And the funny thing is, that it was a completely pointless thing to do, because two months after the book was published, I was on national television… and I wasn’t wearing a false beard or anything. So everyone now knows that I’m a, well, everyone that I’ve met… no one’s gone “Where is he?” And no one seems remotely bothered, which I think is really encouraging. So that’s why. It was my British publishers… so write and yell at them, not me.
Sean Bowler One of our young visitors asks, do you have any imaginary friends, and who are they?
J. K. Rowling Well, you know them, see, there’s in here. [sounds of book being tapped] That’s who they are. Um, I did have imaginary friends when I was younger, I think a lot of children do. I had a very vivid fantasy life, I think, when I was a child. Which is not uncommon… it’s a bit worrying that maybe I didn’t outgrow it though. But, um, yeah, I think I always will have – no, I don’t have imaginary friends now in the sense I’m pretending someone called Pee Wee is standing next to me, no. No, I don’t.
Sean Bowler What advice would you give to young people you have an interest in writing, and also to their parents?
J. K. Rowling Um, I often get asked by, um, younger readers what I would advise if you want to be a writer. This is the way I did it, so that’s the only advice I can give… you’ve got to read as much as you possibly can, cause that’s the best way to recognize good writing, and to learn what makes bad writing, and those are very good things. You’ll probably go through a phase where you imitate your favorite writers; that’s perfectly okay, that’s another learning process. You resign yourself to writing lots and lots of rubbish… you’ve just got to write that out of your system, and sooner or later you’ll hit what – you know – you really should be doing and what’s your genre. And… perseverance. You’ve got to persevere. Cause it’s a career with a lot of knock-backs, but the rewards are huge. I don’t mean, in the sense that that’s what you really want to do, you should be able to do it life-long. It’s the best thing in the world. Very rewarding. But it’s not a career for people who are easily discouraged, that’s for sure. And for their parents, um, don’t tell them it’s unrealistic. Never say that. Because even if they’re not published, writing, well, writing is the passion of my life, so it’s an important thing to do.
Sean Bowler You probably should read this one, because they’re asking how to pronounce one of Harry’s friend’s names.
J. K. Rowling Oh, yeah. This is the question I get asked more than any other, and I’m starting to wish I’d called her Jane. [laughter] “What is the girl who is Harry’s friend’s name?” Her-My-O-Knee. Hermione. Her-Moine is really common, I hear that a lot, but my favorite one’s still Hermy-One. [laughter] And the wicked part of me, when I heard Hermy-One, wanted to say, “That’s exactly right. Well done.” But that’s – I thought that was too cruel because one of these kids would grow up and name their child Hermy-One. [laughter] So we didn’t want that. So it’s Hermione.
Sean Bowler The next one is – how did you come up with her name?
J. K. Rowling Um, it just seems to somehow suit her somehow, it’s a name from Shakespeare, it’s in ‘A Winter’s Tale’. Um, although my Hermione bears very little relation to that Hermione. But it just seems the sort of name that a pair of professional dentists who liked to prove how clever they were – do you know what I mean – gave their daughter a nice unusual name that no one can pronounce! I mean, parents do that. Um, and I did want, in truth, I wanted quite an unusual name for her, because I think there are quite a lot of girls like Hermione, I was a girl like Hermione, and I - it crossed my mind as I was writing, without knowing that I would even be published, that if I ever was published, I didn’t want to give her a common name. You know, just in case somewhere out there, there was a Jane with big front teeth who was really swotty and annoying. Just though that might not be a good idea.
Sean Bowler Why is the Hippograff a half eagle and a half horse?
J. K. Rowling Why is a Hippogriff a half eagle and half horse? Um, I didn’t invent a hippogriff. See, um, Medieval European people genuinely believed it existed. We won’t go into the reasons that might be. But, um, it’s a mythical creature, it’s an unusual mythical creature, it’s not as famous as a unicorn or a griffin. So, um, I don’t really know. You have to ask the medieval monks who did those beautiful illuminations and they drew them on there. Um, I’m very fond of my hippogriff, I like Buckbeak. If you read book 3, you’ll know who that is, if you haven’t, then that will be gobbledygook to you, so sorry.
Sean Bowler Several people have asked, are you stopping at seven?
J. K. Rowling Um, at the moment, I definitely think I’m going to stop at seven, and I have to say, that will be really heartbreaking. Um, the only reason you’ll ever see an eight Harry Potter book is if I really, in ten years time, burn to do another one. But at the moment, I think that’s unlikely. But I try never to say never about anything, cause the moment I say “I will never,” I do it next month. So, I just – but I think not. I think I’ll stop at seven.
Sean Bowler How many points does Quidditch have? How many has he played up to? Someone’s obviously keeping score.
J. K. Rowling Oh, I see. No, I understand. Okay. You – infinity. You can go on forever, because it says in book 1, the longest ever match went on for about three months. Continuously. So that was a lot of points. So you never stop at a certain amount of points. The only thing that can stop a Quidditch match is the golden snitch being caught. And if no one catches the snitch, you can keep playing for years. *evil laughter* [laughter] Well, she seems all right, but she was quite sadistic. [more laughter]
J. K. Rowling Did Voldemort go to school with Lily and James? Lily and James being Harry’s parents. Uh, no. Voldemort is quite a bit older than them. He was at school with Hagrid. Hagrid is – Hagrid doesn’t seem that old, but he’d in fact in his sixties. But he’s just – he’s a strong man, so he doesn’t seem that old. So Voldemort is around that kind of age.
Sean Bowler What other books would you recommend for a nine-year old?
J. K. Rowling Um… oh, loads of books. Um, anything by Phillip Pullman. Of modern writers there’s a book called “Skellig” by an English author, David Armand, which I think is absolutely magnificent. Um, stuff I enjoyed when I was a child – I loved E. Nesbitt. And she’s – I’d really like to see her come back, E. Nesbitt’s books, I think she was a genius. Um… what else? Paul Gallico, he’s out of print a lot now, and I really loved his work too. Any of those people.
Sean Bowler Why in the first book does Harry’s lightening scar flash, or when he gets his lightening scar flash, when Snap looks at him?
J. K. Rowling Snape.
Sean Bowler Snape.
J. K. Rowling Okay, this is a… [laughter]
Sean Bowler I have a problem as well!
J. K. Rowling He’s sleep deprived, he’s got five-month old twins. Um… *exasperated noise* If anyone hasn’t finished reading book one, would they please put their fingers really tightly in their ears now, if they don’t want the ending ruined? Really tightly now, cause this is a question about the ending. Um…Quirrell had the back of his head to Harry at the point when Harry looked at Snape, so someone else was looking at Harry through a certain turban. See what I mean? If you’ve read it, you understand, and if you haven’t read it, you’re going what? But that’s okay.
Sean Bowler We’re going to take a few more questions, and um, the next one is will Harry ever turn into a shape-changer like his father?
J. K. Rowling Animagus. No, Harry’s not in training to be an animagus, and if you’ve read book three, you won’t know – um, that’s a wizard that’s very, very difficult to do. They learn to turn themselves into animals. No, Harry is not, Harry is going to be concentrated elsewhere, he’s not going to have time to do that. He’s got quite a full agenda coming up, poor boy.
Sean Bowler Very good. One more question. Are we going to learn more about Harry’s mom in the next book?
J. K. Rowling Um, this is one of those questions you – some of the best questions I get are about – people have clearly read the books so well, and they’re sensing there’s more to be told about certain people. But I can’t ever answer them very fully, because I will end up giving things away. There is something very important about Harry’s mother that he hasn’t yet discovered, that he’s not going to find out in the next book. It’s too important for book 4, he finds it out later in the series. That was interesting.
Sean Bowler I’m going to ask one more. There were a lot of groans when I said we were going to wrap it up, so one more. What happened to Harry’s grandparents?
J. K. Rowling Um, various interesting things, but again, I’m not going to share. [laughter] Sorry! But that’s okay, cause we have time for another question, cause I didn’t answer that one!
Sean Bowler Okay, good. It’s a good excuse to write more books!
J. K. Rowling True.
Sean Bowler Yes. Um, is there anything that you’d want to add?
J. K. Rowling No, I’ll see one more question, cause we really didn’t get an answer for that.
Sean Bowler Very good.
J. K. Rowling *looking through questions* No, don’t like that one. Oh, I like this one… do Harry and Hermione have a date? [laughter] No. They are – they’re very platonic friends. But I won’t answer for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. [laughter and sound of kids going “Aaah!”]
Sean Bowler Very good. We want to thank our guest.
J. K. Rowling Thank you very much… [wild cheers and applause]
