In The News
J.K. Rowling Receives James Joyce Award in Dublin
J.K. RowlingAs we reported previously, author J.K. Rowling was to receive a special James Joyce award at University College in Dublin. That event was held last night, and Irish newspaper Independent reports on the event where JKR read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, signed copies of the book, and answered questions from fans. At the ceremony, Jo received the award for her services to the written word, with the presenting literary and historical society saying:
Ms Rowling’s work has fostered an appreciation of literature in millions of readers worldwide, and her imagination and creativity have captivated an entire generation.”She receives the award for her tremendous contribution to the field of literature, both in terms of the quality of her work and the impact that it has made over the last decade.
In remarks during the event, JKR noted again she would be writing an encyclopedia (aka the Scottish book) on the Harry Potter series, with proceeds to benefit charity, and that while she would “never say never” to another in the series, it “would be another decade before she could ever revisit the adventures of the wizard.” Jo also took ten questions from fans, where she “admitted that she had the thought of Harry dying in the early books but had changed her mind. However, when the final book was finished it was “like saying goodbye to an old boyfriend”.
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jo has too much free time on her hands – so many public appearances!!!! i wish she did this prior to the DH release.
yes Lilyevans but I’m afraid that we won’t see her for the rest of the year now. Anyway it’s cool
I think that the Encyclopedia will be publish more quickly than we think
Congratulations, Jo! may your godliness smile down on all.
There will clearly be another book, somewhere down the line about the “Potter world”.
But lets give the girl a break -she deserves it !
Heya! My sister who goes 2 ucd was at it she said she (jk) was really kool and nice! my sister got my hp book signed with my name on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! luv hp 4eva!!
i fortunately got to attend the event,even though tickets were only available to UCD students!My friend and i blagged tickets off people.Well we we’re both close to tears at being so near but yet so far!Jo was amazing!Really funny.The part of the book she read was of the main trio.She even did the voices!Unfortunatley unautorised videos or pics were not allowed.That boy pictured in the independant’s picture was taken before she even arrived so it’s funny that the caption probably reads that he is entralled by Rowling!!!
Omg when i heard i really wanted to get tickets but i didnt know anyone thats goes to UCD! i’m only in cork so it would have been great to go up and see her. must go see the indo article now!
I was at it and it was amazing…
one funny thing she mentioned that the article doesn’t – she said that her American editor wanted Ron and Harry to hug at the end of every book and she refused because “they’re british” and it would have to be life and death or football. (she said this during her reading because the bit she read was Ron returning to Harry and Hermione in the woods.)
Oh, and she woke up the morning after she had outed Dumbledore and saw “Dumbledore is gay” on the FOX news ticker ;)
Yayyy!!!! Congrats Jo!!!! I’m so happy, she’s recieving so many awards now, I’m so happy we’re getting to see and hear so much from her right now!! Squeee for the ‘Scottish Book’ !! I knew she wouldn’t disappoint her fans!!!
Oh, Ralph Fiennes won this award before, interesting…
Emma, thanks for the extra details from the event :D I’m so jealous you got to go!
Jo absolutely rules.
and rules and rules and rules.
I hope she knows every moment of every day how much she means to us.
So where are the answers to the ten questions. I only read about 4 things in there that could be an answer from a question about HP.
Thanks Emma for adding another question/answer.
Congratulations to Mrs. Rowling for securing this marvelous reward! She is truly worthy of it.
jo is going to have to add another room to her house for all these awards!!!
Congrats to Jo!
The La Gazette du Sorcier has an article on the event, in both French and English. This article gives an overview of the event with a full transcript promised by the weekend. That report can be found here:
http://www.gazette-du-sorcier.com/Prix-James-Joyce-1-heure-avec-J-K,1029
Questions/answers so far listed:
Jo confirms that Snape and Dumbledore’s histories were established before the Philosopher stone was published, but states that she doesn’t think about the movie when she writes (even though she had a thought for the producers after having written the battle of Hogwarts, realising how much it would cost !)
If Jo were to meet a character, she would definitely pick up Dumbledore (even if she had been tempted by a hug with Hagrid)
As for the opposition of the Pope to Harry Potter, she confesses that she doesn’t follow the issue. Basically, she is definitely opposed to censorship and sees Harry Potter more as a moral book than a proselyte one
« Harry is my Hero » Has she already thought about killing Harry ? No, but Jo is happy that the readers considered the option.
Of course, the question of the homosexuality of Dumbledore arose again. It would be unfair to sum up such a quality answer, so wait for the transcription…
If there is something that Jo would have liked to include in the books, it would have been to give a daughter to the Weasley’s squid cousin. She would have lived with them and as a very skilled magician ; she would have created competition for Hermione. But it didn’t go well with the story…
“Dumbledore was Harry from the future” wins the title of the worst theory ever heard by J.K. Rowling.
At last, J.K. Rowling received the James Joyce award for her numerous book sales and having given back to the youth the taste of literature.
By the end of this week, we should publish a full transcription of the evening.
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Leaky Poll
Moving the HBP film to July 2009 is:
- Completely unforgivable34 (44%)
- Annoying, but I'll get over it28 (36%)
- Not something I care about.4 (5%)
- Cool; who wants to go to the movies in the winter anyway?1 (1%)
- Awesome! I get to save $10 until next year.3 (3%)
- Awesome! I get to save $10 because now I'm skipping this movie!4 (5%)
- 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?2 (2%)
go hairdeas leat jo!