In The News
Entertainment Weekly Names J.K. Rowling "Entertainer of the Year"
J.K. RowlingEntertainment Weekly has named J.K. Rowling their "Entertainer of the Year" for 2007 (cover of new issue with JKR, here).The magazine says the reason they selected the Harry Potter author as their top entertainer was "because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much. In an era of videogame consoles, online multiplayer ''environments,'' and tinier-is-better mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes, she got people to tote around her big, fat old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet."
Praising the timelessness of our favorite author's works, the article continues:
"As it turns out, the Harry Potter books are much richer than their progression from lightness to darkness, from childhood to adulthood, from the episodic simplicity of chapter-books to the heft and sweep of epic novels, and in their constant, book-by-book recalibration of what their readers were prepared to absorb, they've proven unlike anything else in a century of children's literature. Can there be any remaining doubt that Rowling meant every word when she said, some time back, that she planned every aspect of her story ''so carefully I sometimes feel as though my brain is going to explode''? The planning clearly paid off, not only in the blossoming of the books into a worldwide cross-cultural phenomenon but in the widespread declarations that greeted the July publication of volume 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that Rowling had created something timeless, a tale that children would read 25 and 50 years from now."
...
Rowling's writing is distinguished by its great and sustained generosity — toward her readers and her characters — and the books she spent so long creating are entertaining enough to satisfy anybody who reads them in order to flee the cares of the everyday world, even if what looks like a chance to disapparate ultimately lands us in a universe very much like the one we were trying to escape. As odd as it may sound, Rowling is a realist. Even when the incantations are flying (not to mention the people), she stays focused on the humanness of what she's writing about: the cost of pride and stubbornness and vanity, the toll of living in fear, the ache of loss, the search for home, the pain of holding a lifelong secret, the need to be loved, the quest to find out who you truly are."
Hear hear! The new issue of "Entertainment Weekly" featuring JKR on the cover will be on newsstands this weekend.Interested in J.K. Rowling?
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Aw! Congrats Jo. In fact it just occured to me that, with all the HP magazine covers that I’ve seen over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with JKR on it… so it’s about time! :)
Finally they get it! This is what we have always known about J. K. Rowling’s work. It has been a wonderful, stimulating and magical experience following Harry & Co through their growing pains and their adventures. The bonus has been discovering fellow enthusiasts on line and making new friends across the globe. Well done, Jo, we, who are about to re-read for the umpteenth time, salute you!
I’d call this Jo’s biggest/ most popular award or title shes ever got. congrats!
Fantastic! So nice to see Jo’s work recognised like this! Truely deserved! Congrats Jo!
........and the Hits just keep on comin’! Way to go, JKR. As Greymane put it, “Well done, Jo. We, who are about to re-read for the umpteenth time, salute you! To paraphrase another “source” “Nobody <has> it better!”
Hooray! Congratulations to Jo. As others have said, nobody deserves it more.
Hi, does anyone know if Entertainment Weekly is available in the UK?
Congratulations Jo! I couldn’t agree more with what everyone has said. What an amazing woman to allow us to ride along with her on this magic train ride!!
Understatement: well deserved.
Next stop: Time Magazine’s Person of the Year!
Money ALWAYS talks in Hollywood. Thank goodness, Hollywood saw more than money and J. K. Rowling deserved it. Great distillation of the entire article by Sue, too.
Well, we cannot say we’re bored with her. Carnegie Hall revelations and all the rest… She’s really entertainer of the year.
Yesyesyes ♥ So deserved!! Does anyone know if this magazine is sold in the UK? I’d lurrrve to have a magazine with her on the front; in fact if I got hold of it I’ll pin it on my noticeboard _
Entertainment Weekly has finally got something right!
I’m so happy for Jo that I can’t even explain! Why did i get tears in my eyes reading this?
Love to all!
Entertainment Weekly has finally got something right!
I’m so happy for Jo that I can’t even explain! Why did i get tears in my eyes reading this?
Love to all!
Way to go Jo! I agree, Time’s Person of the Year next!
congrats jo! really glad they came around and finally gave u the credit for making such a huge difference throughout the world… i mean come on! Could anyone else bring up the literacy rate of the entire world?? YAY JO!! Im so glad that they chose u! You deserve it!
-HPfreak
I love you Jo ! Thank you so much for everything, what a great article, very emotional you deserve it :) You’re such an excellent role model for anyone.
Sorry, comments are closed for this article.
Leaky Poll
Moving the HBP film to July 2009 is:
- Completely unforgivable74 (39%)
- Annoying, but I'll get over it75 (39%)
- Not something I care about.9 (4%)
- Cool; who wants to go to the movies in the winter anyway?3 (1%)
- Awesome! I get to save $10 until next year.10 (5%)
- Awesome! I get to save $10 because now I'm skipping this movie!9 (4%)
- I've made a Facebook group, started a protest, called my local councilman, staged a sit-in, started a boycott, and organized a million-fan march because we won't stand for the - wait, what was this about again?9 (4%)
Yeah just saw this on tv. And I do agree : Anyone who can get tons of people to lug around a huge book deserves this and much more.
I did NOT
- however- agree with a couple of other of their choices.