More Potter in the Works

Written by Kyle Slagley

The story of an orphaned English boy who, within the span of seven years, must grow up and realize that he is a famous wizard who saved the world once and must do so all over again is well known to millions around the world. Put another way, Harry Potter is one of the most famous people who never lived.

Fans of J.K. Rowling’s book series were given a big boost back in September when it was announced that Rowling had cut a deal with Warner Bros (who produced all eight of the Harry Potter films) to produce a film around Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, a supplemental book to the seven-novel series about Potter. Fantastic Beasts is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter line of novels and films; instead it begins 70 years prior to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in New York City. Rowling is hoping to turn the film into a series of its own.

Potter fans tend to be an insatiable bunch, so it’s a good thing Fantastic Beasts isn’t the only piece of news I have to tell. Just this morning I read that Rowling is also bringing Harry Potter to the stage. Unlike Fantastic Beasts, the stage play will reportedly be a prequel to Philosopher’s Stone, and address Potter’s early days as an orphan and misfit.

Writing extensions to a series as beloved and established as Harry Potter is indeed a tricky business. I have to say, choosing a medium other than film was a wise choice on Rowling’s part. Fans grew used to a distinctive style of filmmaking by the time the eighth movie was released, so writing a prequel for the stage gives Rowling a chance to branch out a bit in style without risking as much rejection from die-hard fans of the film.

Moreover, writing the prequel as a stage play has its advantages for the actors – particularly the lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) young men who will be cast as Harry. On film, audiences would expect and demand a younger version of Daniel Radcliffe. On the stage, audiences will likely give the actors more room to interpret the role.

These two projects will be Rowling’s first attempt at writing both a screenplay and a stage script. With no word on a release date for Fantastic Beasts or an opening night for the stage show, fans will have to get by re-reading the book series and re-watching the film series. We’ll keep you updated if we hear more.

Rowling Makes Under-the-Radar Return

Written by Jon Williams

The literary world was abuzz this weekend with the news that the book The Cuckoo’s Calling, ostensibly written by debut author “Robert Galbraith,” was in fact written by none other than Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling.

Rowling made her own debut in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That was the beginning of a seven-book series detailing the exploits of the boy wizard and his friends as they fought the evil Voldemort in his quest for power and immortality. The books were both a critical and commercial success; Forbes magazine declared Rowling the first person to become a billionaire by writing books. The books also spawned eight film adaptations.

The final Harry Potter book was published in 2007, leaving a question of where Rowling’s writing career would go from there. That question was answered in 2012 with the release of The Casual Vacancy, her first novel aimed at adults. It focuses on the fictional English town of Pagford, which is thrown into chaos by the death of one of its council members. The novel is set to be adapted into a television series for the BBC, to begin airing in 2014.

After the success of Harry Potter, the hype for The Casual Vacancy was enormous. It sold well, but responses were mixed, with critics noting the complete thematic departure from her children’s series—Potter focused on friendship and love, whereas The Casual Vacancy portrayed situations that were dire and bleak. Many felt there was no way Rowling could publish anything without it being compared to the cultural phenomenon that was Harry Potter.

It was partially for that reason that Rowling took on a pseudonym to publish her latest work, which was published in April. She had previously expressed a desire to write a crime novel, and leaving her own name off of it allowed it to stand on its own. The plan worked, with the book drawing strong reviews from such sources as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. The publisher has since announced that a second book in the series will be published next summer, and that Rowling will continue to write them as Robert Galbraith.

Since it was confirmed on Sunday that Rowling is indeed the author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, sales of the book have exploded, and demand is sure to remain strong. Be sure to have plenty of copies on your shelves for patrons when the audio version comes available in September.

Is There Any Stopping The Avengers

Written by Kirk Baird

Is there any stopping The Avengers? Earth’s Mightiest Heroes joined forces onscreen and set box-office records, including the honour to be first film to debut with a $200-million-plus opening weekend. (Its $207.4 million haul bested previous record holder Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows: Part 2 and its $169.2 million in 2011.).

This weekend marked its third-straight at the top of the box office, as it continues to fend off some big-budgeted competition including Dark Shadows and most recently Battleship.

The Avengers’ reign as moviegoers’ top pick will come to an end at some point, perhaps as soon as this weekend with the next challenger, Men in Back III. The sci-fi comedy reunites Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent J and Agent K, respectively. The story features Agent J time traveling to the 1960s to prevent the assassination of a younger Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) and changing history.

And speaking of time travel … it’s been a decade since Men in Black Part II underwhelmed critics, audiences, and the box office, though it did ultimately earn Sony studios a profit. Part II opened in July 2002 with a $52 million haul. Not bad until you consider the first Men in Black opened with nearly the same amount, in 500 less theaters, and at 1997 ticket prices. For the record: The Avengers made $55 million in its third weekend, which makes it formidable competition this weekend as well.

If Men in Black III fails to take down the team of Marvel superheroes, next up to dethrone the king would be Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth (who plays Thor the God of Thunder in The Avengers), and Kristen Stewart. The trailers look promising for this dark and CGI-intense adaptation of the classic fairytale. It’s also the second Snow White big-screen reinvention this year, following on the heels of Mirror Mirror, a dark comedy starring Julia Roberts, Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and Lily Collins (daughter of singer-songwriter-drummer Phil Collins). Mirror Mirror opened March 30 and grossed only $18.13 million its first weekend, on its way to less than $70 million. With an estimated budget of $85 million, Mirror Mirror only made a profit through the foreign box-office and yielded nearly $98 million.

But any victory by either of these two summer film newcomers would be short lived, given the increasing build-up to the June 8 opening of Prometheus.  

What do you think?

Authors Eye New Markets

Publishers Weekly recently noted five Young Adult (YA) authors, like Melissa Marr, that are making the leap this year into “adult” fiction. Likewise, a number of adult authors, like John Grisham and James Patterson, have started to publish works aimed at young adults. So what’s with all the crossing over?



It’s no great mystery why adult writers are venturing into the teen market. Just look at the mega-success that franchises like Harry Potter and Twilight have created for authors J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. The Potter phenomenon made Rowling the first author ever to appear on Forbes’s annual billionaires list.¹ Meyer was second (to James Patterson) on Forbes’s most recent list of highest-paid authors.²


Figures show that YA lit sales are increasing and adult lit sales are declining.³ And it’s not just teens driving the YA craze. More and more, adults are picking up YA novels for themselves. So, in an odd way, adult authors are turning to young adult fiction because that’s where their own audience is.

For YA authors, it’s a slightly different story. While they’re undoubtedly interested in expanding their audience as well, it seems likely that they’ve always been interested in writing more complex stories and handling more mature themes than the traditional YA market would allow. As adult readers take an interest in YA fiction, though, they’re able to push the envelope.

What do you think of the blurred lines between teen and adult fiction? Have you noticed the crossover trend in your library? What YA titles are popular with adults, or vice versa? Let us know in the comments below.

¹ http://www.forbes.com/2004/02/26/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html
² http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/patterson-meyer-king-business-media-highest-paid-authors.html
³ http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/08/entertainment/la-et-young-adult8-2010mar08

Harry Potter Returns! Is Your Collection Ready?

To quote TIME.com, “we've been through a lot, we Potterites.” J.K. Rowling’s first book in the legendary septology released thirteen years ago, and since then, the world has experienced Potter-mania with nine years of cinematic glory, stunning film scores and soundtracks, encyclopaedias and wikis, slews of fan clubs, thousands of blogs and websites (including the hilarious AverageWizard.com), and video games.

Just this past year, Universal Studios in Orlando fulfilled the dreams of Potterites everywhere and turned the world beyond Muggles into a reality. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened on June 18, 2010 and features rides, restaurants, merchandisers, and live shows. The park’s flagship attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, whisks riders “through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle from the various books and films of the Harry Potter series.”¹

The series’ iconic sport Quidditch has also become a reality. According to TheStarPress.com, Quidditch has taken off across college campuses throughout the U.S. and Canada. While athletes can’t fly like they do in the books and films, they still “must ride their brooms during the game, so to speak, for their plays to be counted.” Quidditch has started to extend beyond intramural college sports, taking off worldwide. There’s even an International Quidditch Association who just hosted their fourth Quidditch World Cup.

In addition to real-life Quidditch matches, Wizard Rock, a rock music genre characterized by bands’ humorous performances and songs about the Harry Potter universe, blossomed out of the series’ fandom. According to a TIME.com article about the original Wizard Rock band, Harry and the Potters, “Wizard rockers dress like Hogwarts students. They play at conventions and clubs and wizard-rock festivals.” According to Wizrocklopedia.com, as of 2010, there are over 750 Wizard Rock bands worldwide.

And while J.K. Rowling has promised Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe that there will be no more Potter films even if there are more books², there’s no doubt that the iconic franchise has ingrained itself in popular culture as well as literary and cinematic history. The series experienced a historical 10-year-run on The New York Times bestsellers list.³ In fact, the books initially clogged the fiction list for so long that the New York Times ended up creating a separate list for children’s fiction.⁴

According to Box Office Mojo, when not adjusted for inflation, Harry Potter is the highest grossing film series of all time, raking in over $5.4 billion worldwide, and the franchise’s first six films are among the 30 highest earning movies worldwide. With each film and book, the Potter mania has intensified, igniting the development of supplemental materials, like interactive DVD games (The Harry Potter DVD Game), tribute albums (Harry Potter Piano Tribute), biographical and explorative DVD programs (Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter), and guides and analyses on audiobook (A Parent's Guide to Harry Potter).

With the first part of the final film—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—hitting theatres today, we want to make sure your library is prepared for the surge in Potter mania. To rev up your library’s selection of Harry Potter films, audiobooks, scores, and soundtracks, visit CVSMidwestTapes.com and select the Harry Potter Collection panel to shop all our Harry Potter franchise titles.

What is your library doing to prepare for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I? What’s your take on Potter mania?

¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Forbidden_Journey
² http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/17/harry-potter-jk-rowling-radcliffe
³ http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/ten-years-later-harry-potter-vanishes-from-the-best-seller-list/
⁴ http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/11/111201t_top10.jhtml