Edit: This article was scheduled for release on June 30, 2011, at 6:00 a.m. CST, exactly one week after the Pottermore announcement, though it was completed before then. There was an announcement on the Pottermore Twitter account (@pottermore) on June 29, 2011 at 9:18 a.m. CST, which reads as follows: “Coming up tomorrow: the first of three special previews of one of the Pottermore chapters.” In case those previews have already come out at the time that you’re reading this, please be aware that this post contains no information about them. It is merely a collection of some (relevant) information that has been released to this point about the new Pottermore website as announced by JKR.
Exactly one week ago, J.K. Rowling announced her interactive book-driven internet experience called Pottermore. I wish I’d had the time to write down my thoughts then, but I didn’t, so it had to wait until today, the eve of July. In case you’ve been on a deserted island for a while or have been living under a rock, and you have no idea what I’m talking about, then let me attempt to explain what Pottermore is, what it isn’t, and what this means for the future of the Harry Potter fandom.
As I mentioned, Pottermore is an interactive, online, reading experience. When it is officially released to the public in October, it will include more than 18,000 new words from J.K. Rowling, which is reportedly one-third of the words that are yet to come. I may be mistaken about this, but as I understand it, new content from each book will be released every few months. Content (18,000 extra words, which may or may not be formed into chapters) from Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone will be released on Pottermore this fall–or on July 31st, when the select few one million fans are granted beta access. Wait, what? Early access, you say? Yes, I did say that. Watch the video below (Rowling’s YouTube announcement), then go to the official website, Pottermore.com, to register your interest, which I have already done.
What I’ve taken this to mean is that, we’ll get progressively fewer and fewer additions to each book as each one is released on Pottermore. Chamber of Secrets, for example, is said to be released in (January?) 2012. However, with the six books after Sorcerer’s Stone, again as I understand it, there are 36,000 (18,000 times two, if 18,000 is indeed one third) words shared among them, so while there will be 18,000 released for the first book, there’s an average of 6,000 for each remaining book. I mean, not that I’m complaining, because some of those later books are the size of small refrigerators, so there need not be as much new content released concerning those books as they debut on Pottermore.
Correction: 18,000 is only a third of what Jo Rowling has written so far. She will be developing more new content as the website grows, and so, I would guess, as each book is released on Pottermore every few months. So, in case 6,000 words seemed too few to you, worry not!
Now wait just a minute. Is this Rowling’s Harry Potter Encyclopedia, what she has said before that she plans to write? Yes and no. She’s said that she still may release a print encyclopedia for charity, so that may be on the horizon another 10 years or so from now, but until then, we will have background stories about McGonagall and other magical characters, locations, and things, given to her fans freely via this potentially incredible website. This is information that has never been released before and is completely new to us. So, that in itself is very exciting.
But, is Pottermore only about reading new information? No, certainly not. Pottermore is touted as an interactive experience, and if it was just about reading content written exclusively by J.K. Rowling, that wouldn’t be very interactive–it would be a one-way street between author and reader. No, the way I picture it, we’ve been given an opportunity to experience the stories for ourselves. As we read the stories, at certain steps along the way, we can play Wizard’s Chess, we can allow a wand to choose each of us (from 33,000 possibilities), and what I am most excited about, we can put on the Sorting Hat, then take the most comprehensive test available, ever, to sort us in our proper houses. Jo said herself: there will be no going back. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take a few hours on the test, evaluating each question in regards to my own life. (I have high hopes for Ravenclaw!)
You should know that Pottermore is not an online video game, RPG, or MMORPG (I’m still waiting for that announcement!). Its primary focus is on the books, because it comes from Jo Rowling after all, the author of the Harry Potter books. Registration is free, but there is a Pottermore Shop, where the audio books, and for the first time, Harry Potter eBooks can be purchased. Presumably, other Pottermore and Harry Potter merchandize will also be sold through this Shop. As a proud owner of a Nook, Jo had me at the word “eBooks” in her announcement. I do love the hardcovers that I own, but part of me wants to keep them in pristine condition, so I don’t take them off the shelf very often. Having the ability to take the Harry Potter stories with me wherever I go will be a very welcome change!
Anyway, this is only a summary of the details that I could write, but I cut things out, because I want to keep this preview relevant. What do I think this means for the fandom? Well, I am so thankful, as the owner of this website, that Pottermore came when it did. With the last movie in theaters in just over two weeks, that would have spelled the end of the Harry Potter adaptations. Harry Potter website owners wouldn’t have had much to write about or discuss. For me, FictionRow is heavily based in Harry Potter lore, but it’s not meant to be exclusively about HP. I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit, Part 1 is coming to theaters in December of 2012, with Part 2 to come after that, provided the world doesn’t end. Hopefully more Narnia movies will be produced (rumor has it that Magician’s Nephew will be next). But, for Harry Potter fans, especially the die-hard fans who waited in lines at midnight for a book release, this is a reason to keep going, to keep reading, to keep experiencing, to keep interacting, to keep loving, and to keep living the fantasy that brought us all together in the first place.
More information about Pottermore can be found in the Pottermore Press Room, on LeakyNews.com, or via the Leaky Twitter account (@leaky). Leaky’s owner, Melissa (@melissaanelli), was able to attend the Press Conference after the official YouTube announcement was released, and as her Twitter account states, is a senior creative consultant for Pottermore. I guess it’s no secret that I love the Leaky Cauldron! Go check them out! Thanks for reading. Check back for more.
