Written by Veronica Mkhsi-Gevorkian
As we enter 2018 we have seen a major change not only in children’s literature but also in women writers. It is a challenge for women to be a part of the world of fiction. In the past women had to write under a pseudonym or a pen name. They had to do this due to the fact that men would not read books written by the female authors.
Authors such as Joanne Rowling, aka JK Rowling, have completely changed the view on not just children's fiction but also young adult novels. Can you imagine a life without the infamous Harry Potter series? Well, I certainly can’t. Harry Potter has been a staple series for all ages to enjoy. From fighting dragons to playing Quidditch, the wizard’s sports, Harry Potter helped readers tap into not only the Wizarding World of Harry Potter but the mind of JK Rowling. There are many similar forms of fictional writing, including novels such as Jane Yolen’s 1991 book called Wizard’s Hall and Jill Murphy’s Worst Witch; why is it that Rowling’s Harry Potter stood out and is considerably more popular regardless of having similar themes?
Rowling gave a fresh new start to these wizarding novels. She helped us enter into the world revolving around Hogwarts, the wizarding school. She has created a delightful wizarding vocabulary and a complex seven-book series. After Harry Potter became a true phenomenon and a hit, this gave a bit of a passageway to other authors to publish their books, or an avenue for previously published books to be revisited and attain new popularity, such as was the case for Narnia or The Hobbit. Thanks to Rowling, there was a bit of hope for new authors to be successful in children's and young adult literature. Other books also became popular under the female writers category, for instance: Susan Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy may not have the same wizard-esque themes but has the same fictional thrill; Veronica Roth’s Divergent also taps into another thrilling type of fiction; Victoria Aveyard’s The Red Queen, which is an incredibly thrilling fiction, and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, which introduces characters similar to Rowling's, such as vampires and werewolves. I believe that Rowling did a better job than Meyers about explaining the fictional creatures in more depth because Meyers version was too far fetched. But regardless there are people who adore the saga. Everyone has a different taste in their choice of fiction.
It was not always this glorious for the famous author JK Rowling. The manuscript was turned down by 12 publishing companies. Rowling left her husband and returned to London with nothing but her daughter and the dream of being an author. This shows how driven she was and how much hope she must have had in order to create such a phenomenon. The characters she introduced in the series can be relatable as they all grow on you as you grow older. There is lesson that every writer wants to tell their readers. The lesson that Rowling passes to young readers who adore her writing is that if you set your mind to something, never give up because everyone has the potential, but all they need is someone to give them that leap or push toward their goals and dreams.
The first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997 in the UK and in 1998 in the US but was changed to “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone”.
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