Author marks 20 years of Harry Potter
AUTHOR J K Rowling yesterday marked the “wonderful” two decades since her Harry Potter creation first hit the shelves, starting a global literary phenomenon which has inspired a generation.
“Twenty years ago today a world I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others.
“It’s been wonderful. Thank you,” she wrote on Twitter.
A pair of rounded spectacles and a lightning bolt accompanied the social media site’s special “HarryPotter20” hashtag, a nod to the boy who started it all.
Joanne Kathleen Rowling had struggled through poverty before winning a £1 500 (R24 000) publishing deal with Bloomsbury to print 1 000 copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The seven volumes of the saga have been translated into 79 languages and have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide.
Events to mark the tale include a special exhibition at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, the city where Rowling penned much of the first novel.
Visitors are encouraged to don wizard outfits as they view mementos including a Philosopher’s Stone first edition filled with notes by Rowling.