Arthur Levine Talks Half-Blood Prince and Beyond

Sep 27, 2005

Posted by: SueTLC

Uncategorized

Arthur Levine, editor of the US edition of the Harry Potter books, recently appeared at Silliman College (Yale), and spoke about his work at Scholastic on the series of books. Mr. Levine refleced about topics such as working with Jo, and spoke of his reaction to the death of a much beloved character in Half-Blood Prince.

“First, I felt just shock, and then I felt there’s no way, just no way, [ name edited for spoiler] couldn’t be dead,” Levine said. “So I thought, ‘What’s the trick?’ but unfortunately J.K. Rowling doesn’t do that. She’s writing about war and in war people die. They are not protected by their office and the esteem in which they are held. She wouldn’t compromise that idea by easily bringing him back.”

Mr. Levine continues on to describe his thoughts about JKR, calling her ‘brillant’ and that ” she strikes him as someone who could have been his pal in high school.” He goes on to say that he hopes his working relationship with Jo does not end after Book Seven.

“Though his work on the “Harry Potter” series will end soon, Levine surprised some when he said he has no intention of ending his partnership with Rowling.

“I think I’ll have complex feelings about [the last book],” Levine said. “It’s clearly the series that I will be best known for. But it won’t be, it’s not the end of my career. It’s not the last thing J.K. Rowling will write either, and my relationship with her will continue.”

Click here to read entire article. Please note that for those still trying to avoid spoilers, the name of the character who was killed is mentioned in the article.





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