When I heard that an announcement was on it’s way from one of the world’s favorite authors – a countdown to an exciting new project in the world of Harry Potter from J. K. Rowling, I was excited. Rowling was pretty much my, and every other kids, mentor around the planet growing up.
Her famous books on teenager Harry Potter, who aged with us, and the wizarding world he lives in, taught me how to read, what it means to be a good person, and that every growing teen has their own evil Dark Lord they need to conquer on the road to adulthood. And the movies only made the experience more magical.
So the idea that Rowling could be working on a new project, which she was calling Pottermore, really got me going. What could it be? A new book?
No, she told all her die-hard fans through her original website, JKRowling.com. Could it be a giant online wizarding world perhaps; a place to get sorted and do some magic of our own? But that wasn’t new, unless it was World of Warcraft gone Hogwarts.
The official announcement on what her new project was aired live on Youtube at 7a.m. Pacific time, and it turns out the well anticipated Pottermore could be something new, or something that is terribly, terribly old news. While the Youtube video was flashy, creepy and creative, the nice affects couldn’t halt my uncertainty as she told me Pottermore is simply a more in-depth fan site for Potter followers to join.
Rowling will be taking all her notes, and all her information from the Potter universe she couldn’t use in the book, and will release them on Pottermore.com. To join, fans must send their e-mail to the website. On July 31, the first million people to join will be able to help finalize the site. Registration is open to everyone in October.
Rowling said she herself will be using the website to communicate with her fans and give out all the secrets she’s kept on the books and film until now, but jkrowling.com had a lot of notes from her process in making Harry Potter already, and there have been other interactive websites before.
According to her Extra Stuff section on her author website, Gilderoy Lockhart was based on a man she knows in real life, who is far more aggravating than her fictional celebrity.
Her original website even tells her entire life story, starting from how her parents met on a London train going from King’s Cross station to Scotland. She blogs, she posts rumors and news, and she has hundreds of thousands of fans on that site alone. So what makes Pottermore different then her other sites? According to Rowling and the leaked pictures I’ve seen, maybe a lot of new experiences are on the way with Pottermore.
Her Potter books will be available as E-books for the first time on Pottermore. Fans can go through Hogwarts as wizarding students, talking with Rowling along the way. She hasn’t given everything away yet, but so far it really could be something far more interactive and personal then what her fans have seen before.
I’m going to put a little faith in Rowling, and say that Pottermore could be something you won’t want to miss.