Harry Potter
(By Elliott Walker, TODAY Producer)
It seems strange now, but on September 11, 2001, I had barely heard of Harry Potter. Strange both because of how global my favorite skinny boy hero is now (I just noticed an Urdu translation for sale on Amazon); and because I love the transporting literature of fantasy enough to have re-read THE LORD OF THE RINGS at least ten times and even, in a fit of geeky teenage passion, to have taught myself to write in Elvish runes (a separate alphabet J. R. R. Tolkien invented for his trilogy).
I missed Harry Potter's first three years of published life, but after September 11, Harry came to mean a lot to me. Because I lived in downtown Manhattan, on September 11 I was one of the people who saw the first jet hit the North Tower, a few blocks away. Shortly afterwards, back in my apartment phoning in my account of the explosion to the TODAY show, I looked out my bedroom window and saw the second plane hurtling full power across New York harbor, flying low, tilted almost sideways, apparently coming right for me. When it passed over my building to pierce the South Tower, my reaction became a tiny piece of NBC News's coverage of the day.
Our 9/11 trifecta was complete when my family - my husband, our one- and two-year-old and their nanny - saw both towers fall from a nearby park and were engulfed in a storm cloud of dust and debris. Just when we thought the world was ending, we were rescued by the private gumption of a New York Waterway ferry, put ashore in New Jersey, and faced with the task of getting on with our lives.
Where does Harry come in? CONTINUED >>
Has Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling joined the House of Slytherin?
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Spoiler alert: If you haven't finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," you may not want to read any further.
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Spoiler alert: If you haven't finished reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" yet, put this post in your "to read later" folder!
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In her first interview since the final chapter of the Harry Potter series went public, J.K. Rowling revealed the secrets she could never previously discuss to TODAY’s Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Rowling covered all topics including the rationale behind her plot choices; the character she saved and the ones she decided to kill later in the writing process; what Harry, Hermione and Ron are up to these days; her plans for the future; and the way Harry Potter has saved her own life.
Meredith’s interview with Rowling airs both this morning and Friday on TODAY and in a one-hour Dateline special this Sunday.
But to give you a little taste, allDAY talked to Meredith about the most poignant moments in the hours she spent with Rowling.
allDAY: So, after all you read about Jo going into this interview, what surprised you the most? CONTINUED >>
(From Jen Brown, TODAYShow.com)
I was so engrossed in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” that I didn’t notice the young woman who had approached me until she pointed to my book and asked if it was the new Harry Potter.
I nodded.
“Ahh, I see you have come to the temple to read it,” she said.
J.K. Rowling actually wrote a big part of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on the second floor of this building located in Edinburgh, Scotland, right in the heart of Edinburgh University. Back then it was Nicholson’s Café; it has since been converted into a Chinese restaurant (below).
The ground floor is now occupied by the Black Medicine Coffee Co., frequented by students and tourists. While it is not the exact seat while Rowling sat writing out her novel in long hand with her baby girl sleeping beside her, I certainly enjoyed looking up from the “Deathly Hallows” and knowing Rowling must have been looking at a similar scene where she laid the foundations for this series’ finale over 12 years ago.
For more Harry Potter news, check out our special Harry Potter section. Tune in to TODAY on Thursday, 7/26, and Friday 7/27, and to the special one-hour Dateline on Sunday, 7/29 for the exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
Last night, I was lucky enough to attend the midnight book release party for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in Edinburgh, Scotland, the place where J.K. Rowling "birthed" the famous wizard and his magical word. My official report is here, but I thought I'd share a few more random stories from the event:
Nina Jones, Elizabeth Thacker and Alice Langley got up at 4 a.m. in order to be first in line at the West End Waterstone's book store, but that's not the craziest thing they've done for Harry Potter. For Nina's 17th birthday, Elizabeth and Alice recorded the first sixth books on tape. The endeavor took two full months.
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Scholastic has picked the winners of the sweepstakes the originally announced on TODAY. The following seven lucky muggles will be traveling to London to attend J.K. Rowling and the Moonlight Signing event in London for the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at 12:01 a.m. on July 21:
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Just a day after we announced we'll have an exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling following the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," there's more big Harry Potter news this morning.
Rowling will be coming to the States in October for the "J.K. Rowling Book Tour," which will include four events in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City (two events). Sadly for fans like myself, three of the four are only open to schoolchildren, BUT there will one stop in New York's Carnegie Hall open to fans of all ages. Tickets to that event will be given out through a Scholastic sweepstakes that opens July 30 on their Web site.
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This morning, Scholastic editor Arthur Levine revealed the special edition cover of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” on TODAY...
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