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{{Short description|Series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling}}
{{About|the novel series|the character|Harry Potter (character)|the film series|Harry Potter (film series){{!}}''Harry Potter'' (film series)|the franchise|Wizarding World|the universe|Fictional universe of Harry Potter|other uses|Harry Potter (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the Australian journalist|Harry Potter (journalist)}}
{{Pp|reason=Persistent [[WP:Disruptive editing|disruptive editing]]|small=yes}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book series
| name = ''Harry Potter''
| books = {{Plainlist|
* <!--Please do not change the title of the first book. It was published as "Philosopher's" first --> ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets|Chamber of Secrets]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Goblet of Fire]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|Order of the Phoenix]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince|Half-Blood Prince]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|Deathly Hallows]]'' (2007)}}<!-- Please do not add "Cursed Child" to this list of the novels. It is primarily a theatrical play. Discuss on talk page if you disagree. -->
| image = [[File:Harry Potter wordmark.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
| alt = The ''Harry Potter'' logo first used for the American edition of the novel series (and some other editions worldwide), and then the film series.
| author = [[J. K. Rowling]]
| translator = 
| cover_artist = <!--1st edition artist--> [[Thomas Taylor (artist)|Thomas Taylor]]<!--book 1 -->, [[Cliff Wright (illustrator)|Cliff Wright]]<!--books 2 and 3-->, Giles Greenfield<!--book 4-->, Jason Cockcroft<!--books 5, 6, 7-->
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| genre = [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]]
| publisher = <!--1st edition publisher-->[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]
| pub_date = 26 June 1997 – 21 July 2007
| media_type = {{Plainlist|
* Print ([[hardback]] and [[paperback]])
* [[Audiobook]]
* [[E-book]]
}}
| number_of_books = 7
| website = {{URL|https://harrypotter.com}}
}}

'''''Harry Potter''''' is a series of seven [[Fantasy literature|fantasy novels]] written by British author [[J. K. Rowling]]. The novels chronicle the lives of a young [[Magician (fantasy)|wizard]], [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]], and his friends, [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Hermione Granger]], all of whom are students at [[Hogwarts|Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. The main [[story arc]] concerns Harry's conflict with [[Lord Voldemort]], a [[Black magic|dark wizard]] who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the [[Ministry of Magic]], and subjugate all wizards and [[Muggle]]s (non-magical people).

The series was originally published in English by [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] in the United Kingdom and [[Scholastic Corporation|Scholastic Press]] in the United States. A series of many genres, including [[fantasy]], [[drama]], [[Coming-of-age story|coming-of-age fiction]], and the British [[school story]] (which includes elements of [[mystery (fiction)|mystery]], [[thriller (genre)|thriller]], [[adventure novel|adventure]], [[Horror and terror|horror]], and [[romance novel|romance]]), the world of ''Harry Potter'' explores numerous themes and includes many cultural meanings and references.<ref name="meanings" /> Major themes in the series include prejudice, corruption, madness, love, and death.<ref name="Geordie Greig">{{cite news |first=Geordie |last=Greig |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1507438/There-would-be-so-much-to-tell-her....html |title=There would be so much to tell her... |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=4 April 2007 |date=11 January 2006 |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032026/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F01%2F10%2Fnrowl110.xml |archive-date=11 March 2007 }}</ref>

Since the release of the first novel, ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', on 26 June 1997, the books have found immense popularity and commercial success worldwide. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers and are widely considered cornerstones of modern literature,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2996578.stm|title=Potter's place in the literary canon|work=BBC News|last=Allsobrook|first='Marian|date=18 June 2003|access-date=15 October 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109162755/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2996578.stm|archive-date=9 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/harry-potters-place-in-literature/|title=Harry Potter's place in literature|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education|last=Bartlett|first=Kellie|date=6 January 2005|df=dmy-all|access-date=18 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313053821/https://www.chronicle.com/article/harry-potters-place-in-literature/|archive-date=13 March 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> though the books have received mixed reviews from critics and literary scholars. {{as of|2023|February}}, the books have sold more than 600&nbsp;million copies worldwide, making them the [[List of best-selling books#List of best-selling book series|best-selling book series in history]], [[List of Harry Potter translations|available in dozens of languages]]. The last four books all set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 2.7 million copies in the United Kingdom and 8.3 million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release. It holds the [[Guinness World Record]] for "Best-selling book series for children."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/358717-best-selling-book-series-for-children |title=Best-selling book series for children |publisher=Guinness World Records |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref>

[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] adapted the original seven books into an eight-part [[Harry Potter (film series)|namesake film series]]. In 2016, the total value of the ''Harry Potter'' franchise was estimated at $25&nbsp;billion,<ref name="Time25">{{cite magazine |last1=Meyer |first1=Katie |date=6 April 2016 |title=Harry Potter's $25 Billion Magic Spell |url=https://money.com/billion-dollar-spell-harry-potter/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514014809/https://money.com/billion-dollar-spell-harry-potter/ |archive-date=14 May 2021 |access-date=4 November 2016 |magazine=[[Money (magazine)|Money]]}}</ref> making it one of the [[List of highest-grossing media franchises|highest-grossing media franchises of all time]]. ''[[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]]'' is a play based on a story co-written by Rowling. A television series based on the books is in production at [[HBO]].

The success of the books and films has allowed the ''Harry Potter'' franchise to expand with numerous derivative works, a travelling exhibition that premiered in Chicago in 2009, a studio tour in London that opened in 2012, [[Pottermore|a digital platform]] on which J. K. Rowling updates the series with new information and insight, and a trilogy of [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] films premiering in November 2016 with ''[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]'', among many other developments. Themed attractions, collectively known as [[The Wizarding World of Harry Potter]], have been built at several [[Universal Destinations & Experiences]] amusement parks around the world.

{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

== Plot ==
{{Further|Fictional universe of Harry Potter}}
<!-- Per [[MOS:NOVELPLOT]], "a novel is a primary source for its own plot summary", and citations are not needed for purely descriptive plot details. -->

=== Early years ===
[[File:The Elephant House.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Elephant House (Edinburgh Café)|The Elephant House]] was one of the cafés in [[Edinburgh]] where Rowling wrote the first part of ''Harry Potter''.|alt="The Elephant House", a small, painted red café where Rowling wrote a few chapters of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'']]

The series follows the life of a boy named [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]]. In the first book, ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' (''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the US), Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs in the house of the [[List of supporting Harry Potter characters#The Dursleys|Dursleys]], his aunt, uncle and cousin, who all treat him poorly. At the age of 11, Harry discovers that he is a [[Magician (fantasy)|wizard]]. He meets a half-giant named [[Hagrid]] who gives him a letter of acceptance to attend the [[Hogwarts|Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. Harry learns that his parents, [[Lily Potter|Lily]] and [[James Potter (character)|James Potter]], also had magical powers and were murdered by the dark wizard [[Lord Voldemort]] when Harry was a baby. When Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, his curse rebounded, seemingly killing Voldemort, and Harry survived with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The event made Harry famous among the community of wizards and [[Witchcraft|witches]].

Harry becomes a student at Hogwarts and is sorted into [[Hogwarts|Gryffindor House]]. He gains the friendship of [[Ron Weasley]], a member of a large but poor wizarding family, and [[Hermione Granger]], a witch of non-magical, or [[Muggle]], parentage. The trio develop an enmity with the rich [[Fictional universe of Harry Potter#Blood purity|pure-blood]] student [[Draco Malfoy]]. Harry encounters the school's headmaster, [[Albus Dumbledore]]; the [[potion]]s professor, [[Severus Snape]], who displays a dislike for him; and the [[Defence Against the Dark Arts]] teacher, [[Quirinus Quirrell]]. Quirrell turns out to be allied with Voldemort, who is still alive as a weak spirit. The first book concludes with Harry's confrontation with Voldemort, who, in his quest to regain a body, yearns to possess the [[Sorcerer's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]], a substance that bestows everlasting life.

''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' describes Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Students are attacked and petrified by an unknown creature; wizards of Muggle parentage are the primary targets. The attacks appear related to the mythical [[Chamber of Secrets]] and resemble attacks fifty years earlier. Harry discovers an ability to speak the snake language [[Parseltongue]], which he learns is rare and associated with the [[Black magic|Dark Arts]]. When Hermione is attacked and Ron's younger sister [[Ginny Weasley]] is abducted, Harry and Ron uncover the chamber's secrets and enter it. Harry discovers that Ginny was possessed by an old diary, inside which the memory of [[Lord Voldemort|Tom Marvolo Riddle]], Voldemort's younger self, resides. On Voldemort's behalf, Ginny opened the chamber and unleashed the [[Basilisk (Harry Potter)|basilisk]], an ancient monster that kills or petrifies those who make direct or indirect eye contact, respectively. With the help of Dumbledore's [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]], Fawkes, and the [[Sword of Gryffindor]], Harry slays the basilisk and destroys the diary.

In the third novel, ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', Harry learns that he is targeted by [[Sirius Black]], an escaped convict who allegedly assisted in his parents' murder. [[Dementors]], creatures that feed on happiness, search for Sirius and guard the school. As Harry struggles with his reaction to the dementors, he reaches out to [[Remus Lupin]], a new professor who teaches him the [[Patronus charm]]. On a windy night, Ron is dragged by a black dog into the [[Shrieking Shack]], a haunted house, and Harry and Hermione follow. The dog is revealed to be Sirius Black. Lupin enters the shack and explains that Sirius was James Potter's best friend; he was framed by another friend of James, [[Scabbers|Peter Pettigrew]], who hides as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. As the full moon rises, Lupin transforms into a werewolf and bounds away, and the group chase after him. They are surrounded by dementors, but are saved by a figure resembling James who casts a stag Patronus. This is later revealed to be a future version of Harry, who traveled back in time with Hermione using a device called a [[Time Turner]]. The duo help Sirius escape on a [[Hippogriff]], while Pettigrew escapes.

=== Voldemort returns ===
[[File:The former 1st floor Nicholson's Cafe now renamed Spoon in Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|The former 1st floor Nicholson's Cafe now renamed Spoon in Edinburgh where J. K. Rowling wrote the first few chapters of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'']]

In Harry's fourth year of school (detailed in ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]''), Hogwarts hosts the [[Triwizard Tournament]], a contest between Hogwarts and the schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Harry is unwillingly entered into the contest, becoming Hogwarts' second participant after [[Cedric Diggory]], an unusual occurrence that causes his friends to distance themselves from him. Harry claims the Triwizard Cup with Cedric, but he is teleported to a graveyard where Pettigrew kills Cedric, then resurrects Voldemort using Harry's blood. Voldemort convenes his supporters, the [[Death Eater]]s, and Harry manages to escape after a duel with Voldemort. Upon returning to Hogwarts, it is revealed that a Death Eater, [[Barty Crouch, Jr]], in disguise as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, [[Mad-Eye Moody|Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody]], engineered Harry's entry into the tournament, secretly helped him, and had him teleported to Voldemort.

In the fifth book, ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'', the [[Ministry of Magic]] refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore re-activates the [[Order of the Phoenix (organisation)|Order of the Phoenix]], a secret society to counter Voldemort; meanwhile, the Ministry tightens control of Hogwarts by appointing [[Dolores Umbridge]] as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, and she gradually increases her powers. When Umbridge bans practical teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry, Ron and Hermione form "[[Dumbledore's Army]]", a secret group to continue the teachings. Harry has recurring dreams of a dark corridor in the Ministry of Magic, eventually dreaming that Sirius is being tortured there. He races to the Ministry with his friends, but it is a trap, planted in his head by Voldemort. The group are attacked by Death Eaters and saved by the Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius is killed in the battle. A duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort convinces the ministry of Voldemort's return. A prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort is revealed: one must die at the hands of the other.

In the sixth book, ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', Snape teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts while [[Horace Slughorn]] becomes the Potions master. Harry finds an old textbook with annotations by the Half-Blood Prince, due to which he achieves success in Potions class. Harry also takes lessons with Dumbledore, viewing memories about the early life of Voldemort in a device called a [[Pensieve]]. Harry learns from a drunken Slughorn that he used to teach Tom Riddle, and that Voldemort divided his soul into pieces, creating a series of [[Horcrux]]es. Harry and Dumbledore travel to a distant lake to destroy a Horcrux; they succeed, but Dumbledore weakens. On their return, they find Draco Malfoy and Death Eaters attacking the school. The book ends with the killing of Dumbledore by Professor Snape, the titular Half-Blood Prince.

In ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', the seventh and final novel in the series, Lord Voldemort gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron and Hermione learn about the [[Deathly Hallows (objects)|Deathly Hallows]], legendary items that lead to mastery over death. The group infiltrates the ministry, where they steal a locket Horcrux, and visit [[Godric's Hollow]], where they are attacked by Nagini, Voldemort's snake. A silver doe Patronus leads them to the Sword of Gryffindor, with which they destroy the locket. They steal a Horcrux from Gringotts and travel to Hogwarts, culminating in a battle with the Death Eaters. Snape is killed by Voldemort out of paranoia, but he lends Harry his memories before he dies. Harry learns that Snape was always loyal to Dumbledore, and that Harry is himself a Horcrux. Harry surrenders to Voldemort and is hit with the killing curse; however he is not killed as the protection Lily gave him lives on within Voldemort since he used Harry's blood to resurrect himself . The defenders of Hogwarts continue to fight on; Harry comes back from limbo, faces Voldemort and kills him.

An epilogue titled "Nineteen Years Later" describes the lives of the surviving characters and the impact of Voldemort's death. Harry and Ginny are married with three [[James Sirius Potter|children]], and Ron and Hermione are married with [[Rose Granger-Weasley|two children]].

== Style and allusions ==
===Genre and style===
The novels fall into the genre of [[fantasy literature]], and qualify as a type of fantasy called "[[urban fantasy]]", "contemporary fantasy", or "[[low fantasy]]". They are mainly dramas, and maintain a fairly serious and dark tone throughout, though they do contain some notable instances of [[tragicomedy]] and black humour. In many respects, they are also examples of the ''[[bildungsroman]]'', or [[coming of age]] novel,<ref>{{cite news |last=Anne Le Lievre |first=Kerrie |year=2003 |title=Wizards and wainscots: generic structures and genre themes in the Harry Potter series |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OON/is_1_24/ai_107896944/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206041643/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OON/is_1_24/ai_107896944/ |archive-date=6 December 2008 |access-date=1 September 2008 |publisher=CNET Networks}}</ref> and contain elements of [[mystery (fiction)|mystery]], adventure, [[horror fiction|horror]], [[thriller (genre)|thriller]], and [[romance novel|romance]]. The books are also, in the words of [[Stephen King]], "shrewd mystery tales",<ref name="Wild About Harry">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/07/23/reviews/000723.23kinglt.html|title=Wild About Harry|last=King|first=Stephen|date=23 July 2000|newspaper=The New York Times|quote=...the Harry Potter books are, at heart, satisfyingly shrewd mystery tales.|author-link=Stephen King|access-date=9 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417021723/http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/07/23/reviews/000723.23kinglt.html|archive-date=17 April 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and each book is constructed in the manner of a [[Sherlock Holmes]]-style [[Mystery fiction|mystery]] adventure. The stories are told from a [[third person limited]] point of view with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]]'', ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Goblet of Fire]]'' and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|Deathly Hallows]]'' and the first two chapters of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince|Half-Blood Prince]]'').

The series can be considered part of the British children's [[School story|boarding school genre]], which includes [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Stalky & Co.]]'', [[Enid Blyton]]'s ''[[Malory Towers]]'', ''[[St. Clare's series|St. Clare's]]'' and the ''[[Naughtiest Girl]]'' series, and Frank Richards's ''[[Billy Bunter]]'' novels: the ''Harry Potter'' books are predominantly set in [[Hogwarts]], a fictional British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of [[magic (Harry Potter)|magic]].<ref name="Harry Potter Boarding">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/563232.stm|title=Harry Potter makes boarding fashionable|work=BBC News|access-date=1 September 2008|date=13 December 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228112231/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/563232.stm|archive-date=28 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from [[Thomas Hughes]]'s ''[[Tom Brown's School Days]]'' and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of [[Public school (UK)|British public school]] life", though they are, as many note, more contemporary, grittier, darker, and more mature than the typical boarding school novel, addressing serious [[theme (narrative)|themes]] of death, love, loss, prejudice, coming-of-age, and the loss of innocence in a 1990s British setting.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ellen Jones |first= Leslie |title= JRR Tolkien: A Biography |publisher= Greenwood Press |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-313-32340-9 |page= [https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienbiogra0000jone/page/16 16] |url= https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienbiogra0000jone/page/16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= A Whited | first = Lana | title=The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon | publisher=University of Missouri Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8262-1549-9|page=28}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2023}}

In ''Harry Potter'', Rowling juxtaposes the extraordinary against the ordinary.{{Sfn|Natov|2002|p=129}} Her narrative features two worlds: a contemporary world inhabited by non-magical people called [[Muggles]], and another featuring wizards. It differs from typical [[portal fantasy]] in that its magical elements stay grounded in the mundane.{{sfn|Butler|2012|pp=233–34}} Paintings move and talk; books bite readers; letters shout messages; and maps show live journeys, making the wizarding world both exotic and familiar.{{Sfn|Natov|2002|p=129}}{{sfn|Butler|2012|p=234}} This blend of realistic and romantic elements extends to Rowling's characters. Their names are often [[onomatopoeic]]{{clarify|date=January 2024}}: Malfoy is difficult, Filch is unpleasant, and Lupin is a werewolf.{{sfn|Park|2003|p=183}}{{Sfn|Natov|2002|p=130}} Harry is ordinary and relatable, with down-to-earth features such as wearing broken glasses;{{sfn|Nikolajeva|2008|p=233}} the scholar Roni Natov terms him an "everychild".{{sfn|Ostry|2003|p=97}} These elements serve to highlight Harry when he is heroic, making him both an [[everyman]] and a fairytale hero.{{sfn|Nikolajeva|2008|p=233}}{{sfn|Ostry|2003|pp=90, 97–98}}

Each of the seven books is set over the course of one school year. Harry struggles with the problems he encounters, and dealing with them often involves the need to violate some school rules. If students are caught breaking rules, they are often disciplined by Hogwarts professors. The stories reach their climax in the [[summer term]], near or just after [[Final examination|final exams]], when events escalate far beyond in-school squabbles and struggles, and Harry must confront either [[Voldemort]] or one of his followers, the [[Death Eaters]], with the stakes a matter of life and death—a point underlined, as the series progresses, by characters being killed in each of the final four books.<ref name="Harry Potter Last Adventure" /><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/two-characters-to-die-in-last-harry-potter-book-j-k-rowling-1.598355 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060630023326/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/06/26/rowling-potter-deaths.html | archive-date=30 June 2006|title=Two characters to die in last 'Harry Potter' book: J.K. Rowling|publisher=CBC|access-date=1 September 2008 |url-status= live | date=26 June 2006}}</ref> In the aftermath, he learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with head teacher and mentor [[Albus Dumbledore]]. The only exception to this school-centred setting is the final novel, ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', in which Harry and his friends spend most of their time away from Hogwarts, and only return there to face Voldemort at the ''[[dénouement]]''.<ref name="Harry Potter Last Adventure">{{cite news |last=Grossman |first=Lev |date=28 June 2007 |title=Harry Potter's Last Adventure |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1637886_1637891,00.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827145911/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1637886_1637891,00.html |archive-date=27 August 2008 |access-date=1 September 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Allusions===
The ''Harry Potter'' stories feature imagery and motifs drawn from [[Arthurian myth]] and [[fairytales]]. Harry's ability to draw the [[Sword of Gryffindor]] from the [[Sorting Hat]] resembles the Arthurian [[Excalibur|sword in the stone]] legend.{{sfn|Alton|2008|p=216}} His life with the Dursleys has been compared to [[Cinderella]].{{sfn|Gallardo|Smith|2003|p=195}} Hogwarts resembles a medieval university-cum-castle with several professors who belong to an Order of Merlin; Old Professor Binns still lectures about the International Warlock Convention of 1289; and a real historical person, a 14th-century scribe, Sir [[Nicolas Flamel]], is described as a holder of the Philosopher's Stone.<ref name="Scriptorium Press">{{cite journal|last1=Arden |first1=Heather |last2=Lorenz |first2=Kathryn  |title=The Harry Potter Stories and French Arthurian Romance|journal=Arthuriana|volume=13 |issue=12|pages=54–68|date=June 2003|jstor=27870516|doi=10.1353/art.2003.0005 |s2cid=161603742  | issn=1078-6279}}</ref> Other medieval elements in Hogwarts include coats-of-arms and medieval weapons on the walls, letters written on parchment and sealed with wax, the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which is similar to the Great Hall of Camelot, the use of Latin phrases, the tents put up for Quidditch tournaments, which are similar to the "marvellous tents" put up for knightly tournaments, imaginary animals like dragons and unicorns that exist around Hogwarts, and the banners with heraldic animals for the four Houses of Hogwarts.<ref name="Scriptorium Press"/>

Many of the motifs of the Potter stories, such as the hero's quest invoking objects that confer invisibility, magical animals and trees, a forest full of danger and the recognition of a character based upon scars, are drawn from medieval French Arthurian romances.<ref name="Scriptorium Press"/> Other aspects borrowed from French Arthurian romances include the use of owls as messengers, werewolves as characters, and white deer.<ref name="Scriptorium Press"/> The American scholars Heather Arden and Kathrn Lorenz in particular argue that many aspects of the Potter stories are inspired by a 14th-century French Arthurian romance, ''Claris et Laris'', writing of the "startling" similarities between the adventures of Potter and the knight Claris.<ref name="Scriptorium Press"/> Arden and Lorenz noted that Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter in 1986 with a degree in French literature and spent a year living in France afterwards.<ref name="Scriptorium Press"/>

Like C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', ''Harry Potter'' also contains Christian symbolism and [[allegory]]. The series has been viewed as a Christian moral fable in the [[psychomachia]] tradition, in which stand-ins for good and evil fight for supremacy over a person's soul.{{Sfn|Singer|2016|pp= 26–27}} Children's literature critic Joy Farmer sees parallels between Harry and [[Jesus Christ]].{{Sfn|Farmer|2001|p=58}} Comparing Rowling with Lewis, she argues that "magic is both authors' way of talking about spiritual reality".{{Sfn|Farmer|2001|p=55}} According to [[Maria Nikolajeva]], Christian imagery is particularly strong in the final scenes of the series: Harry dies in self-sacrifice and Voldemort delivers an "[[ecce homo]]" speech, after which Harry is [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrected]] and defeats his enemy.{{sfn|Nikolajeva|2008|pp=238–39}}

Rowling stated that she did not reveal ''Harry Potter''{{'}}s religious parallels in the beginning because doing so would have "give[n] too much away to fans who might then see the parallels".<ref name="Adler2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1572107/harry-potter-author-jk-rowling-opens-up-about-books-christian-imagery/|title='Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery|last=Adler|first=Shawn|date=17 October 2007|publisher=[[MTV]]|language=en|access-date=3 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014091806/http://www.mtv.com/news/1572107/harry-potter-author-jk-rowling-opens-up-about-books-christian-imagery/|archive-date=14 October 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In the final book of the series, ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', Rowling makes the book's Christian imagery more explicit, quoting both [[Matthew 6:21]] and [[1 Corinthians 15:26]] ([[King James Version]]) when Harry visits his parents' [[kirkyard|graves]].<ref name="Adler2007"/> [[Hermione Granger]] teaches Harry Potter that the meaning of these verses from the [[Christian Bible]] are "living beyond death. Living after death", which Rowling states  "epitomize the whole series".<ref name="Adler2007"/><ref name="SedlmayrWaller2014">{{cite book|last1=Sedlmayr|first1=Gerold|last2=Waller|first2=Nicole|title=Politics in Fantasy Media: Essays on Ideology and Gender in Fiction, Film, Television and Games|date=28 October 2014|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|language=en|isbn=9781476617558|page=132|quote=During this press conference, Rowling stated that the Bible quotations in that novel "almost epitomize the whole series. I think they sum up all the themes in the whole series" (reported in Adler).}}</ref><ref name="Falconer2008">{{cite book|last=Falconer|first=Rachel|title=The Crossover Novel: Contemporary Children's Fiction and Its Adult Readership|date=21 October 2008|publisher=[[Routledge]]|language=en|isbn=9781135865016|page=69|quote=These New Testament verses (Matthew 6:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:26) together denote the promise of resurrection through the Son of God's consent to die.52 In interview, Rowling has stressed that these two quotations 'sum up{{snd}}they almost epitomize the whole series'.}}</ref> Rowling also exhibits Christian values in developing Albus Dumbledore as a God-like character, the divine, trusted leader of the series, guiding the long-suffering hero along his quest. In the seventh novel, Harry speaks with and questions the deceased Dumbledore much like a person of faith would talk to and question God.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooke |first=Rachel |title=ProQuest Ebook Central |journal=[[The Charleston Advisor]] |doi=10.5260/cca.199425|doi-broken-date=16 June 2025 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=August 2024}}

== Themes ==
[[File:J. K. Rowling 2010.jpg|left|thumb|The novelist, [[J. K. Rowling]] |alt=J.K. Rowling, a blond, blue-eyed woman, who is the author of the series]]

''Harry Potter''{{'s}} overarching theme is death.{{Sfn|Ciaccio|2008|pp=39–40}}{{Sfn|Groves|2017|pp=xxi–xxii, 135–136}} In the first book, when Harry looks into the Mirror of Erised, he feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing his desire: his parents, alive and with him.{{sfn|Natov|2002|pp= 134–36}} Confronting their loss is central to Harry's character arc and manifests in different ways through the series, such as in his struggles with [[Magical creatures in Harry Potter#Dementors|Dementors]].{{sfn|Natov|2002|pp=134–36}}{{sfn|Taub|Servaty-Seib|2008|pp=23–27}} Other characters in Harry's life die; he even faces his own death in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''.{{Sfn|Pharr|2016|pp=20–21}} The series has an [[existentialism|existential]] perspective—Harry must grow mature enough to accept death.{{Sfn|Los|2008|pp=32–33}} In Harry's world, death is not binary but mutable, a state that exists in degrees.{{Sfn|Stojilkov|2015|p=135}} Unlike Voldemort, who evades death by separating and hiding his soul in seven parts, Harry's soul is whole, nourished by friendship and love.{{Sfn|Los|2008|pp=32–33}}

Love distinguishes Harry and Voldemort. Harry is a hero because he loves others, even willing to accept death to save them; Voldemort is a villain because he does not.{{Sfn|Pharr|2016|pp= 14–15, 20–21}} Harry carries the protection of his mother's sacrifice in his blood; Voldemort, who wants Harry's blood and the protection it carries, does not understand that love vanquishes death.{{Sfn|Farmer|2001|p=58}}

Rowling has spoken about thematising death and loss in the series. Soon after she started writing ''Philosopher's Stone'', her mother died; she said that "I really think from that moment on, death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books".{{sfn|Groves|2017|p=138}} Rowling has described Harry as "the prism through which I view death", and further stated that "all of my characters are defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death".{{sfn|Groves|2017|p=135}}

While ''Harry Potter'' can be viewed as a story about good vs. evil, its moral divisions are not absolute.{{sfn|Shanoes|2003|pp=131–32}}{{sfn|McEvoy|2016|p=207}} First impressions of characters are often misleading. Harry assumes in the first book that Quirrell is on the side of good because he opposes Snape, who appears to be malicious; in reality, Quirrell is an agent of Voldemort, while Snape is loyal to Dumbledore. This pattern later recurs with Moody and Snape.{{sfn|Shanoes|2003|pp= 131–32}} In Rowling's world, good and evil are choices rather than inherent attributes: second chances and the possibility of redemption are key themes of the series.{{sfn|Doughty|2002|pp= 247–49}}{{Sfn|Berberich|2016|p=153}} This is reflected in Harry's self-doubts after learning his connections to Voldemort, such as Parseltongue;{{sfn|Doughty|2002|pp=247–49}} and prominently in Snape's characterisation, which has been described as complex and multifaceted.{{sfn|Birch|2008|pp=110–13}} In some scholars' view, while Rowling's narrative appears on the surface to be about Harry, her focus may actually be on Snape's morality and character arc.{{sfn|Nikolajeva|2016|p=204}}{{sfn|Applebaum|2008|pp=84–85}}

Rowling said that, to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious". In the fourth book, Dumbledore speaks of a "choice between what is right and what is easy"; Rowling views this as a key theme, "because that ... is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble".<ref>{{cite news |first=Wyman |last=Max |title="You can lead a fool to a book but you cannot make them think": Author has frank words for the religious right |newspaper=[[The Vancouver Sun]] |date=26 October 2000 |page=A3 |id={{ProQuest|242655908}}}}</ref>

Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including [[politics of Harry Potter|political subtexts]]. Themes such as [[Normality (behavior)|normality]], oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the series.<ref name="Greenwald2005">{{cite journal|last1=Greenwald|first1=Janey|title=Understanding Harry Potter: Parallels to the Deaf World|journal=The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education|volume=10|issue=4|pages=442–450|date=Fall 2005|doi=10.1093/deafed/eni041|pmid=16000691|last2=Greenwald|first2=J |format=Free full text|doi-access=free}}</ref> Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and "going over one's most harrowing ordeals—and thus coming to terms with them" has also been considered.<ref name="Duffy2002">{{cite journal|last=Duffy|first=Edward|title=Sentences in Harry Potter, Students in Future Writing Classes|journal=Rhetoric Review|volume=21|issue=2|year=2002|page=177|doi=10.1207/S15327981RR2102_03|s2cid=144654506}}</ref> Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to [[bigotry]]" and that they also pass on a message to "question authority and... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7053982.stm|title=JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay|access-date=21 October 2007|date=21 October 2007|work=BBC News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022052510/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7053982.stm|archive-date=22 October 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Development history ==
{{Main|Harry Potter influences and analogues}}

In 1990, Rowling was on a crowded train from [[Manchester]] to [[London]] when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into" her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:<ref name="Harry falls into author's head">{{cite web|publisher=JKRowling.com|url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/biography.cfm|title=Biography|first= JK |last = Rowling |access-date=21 May 2006|year=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421032312/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/biography.cfm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=21 April 2006}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.}}

Rowling completed ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' in 1995 and the [[manuscript]] was sent off to several prospective [[literary agent|agents]].{{sfn|Kirk|2003|p=73}} The second agent she tried, [[Christopher Little]], offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to several publishers.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=156, 159–161}}

=== Publishing history ===
[[File:Harry Potter wordmark (British).svg|thumb|The logo used in British, Australian, and Canadian editions before 2010, which uses the typeface [[Cochin (typeface)|Cochin Bold]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomsbury.com/media/bookseller_image_tandcs.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710055833/http://www.bloomsbury.com/media/bookseller_image_tandcs.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2007 |title=Harry Potter Books (UK Editions) Terms and Conditions for Use of Images for Book Promotion |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |date=10 July 2007 |access-date=7 September 2012}}</ref>]]

After twelve other publishers had rejected ''Philosopher's Stone'', [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] agreed to publish the book.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=159–160}} Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular [[Demographic profile|age group]] in mind when beginning to write the ''Harry Potter'' books, the publishers initially targeted children aged nine to eleven.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/308/story/637623.html |title=The magic years |last=Huler |first=Scott |work=The News & Observer |access-date=28 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218170339/http://www.newsobserver.com/308/story/637623.html |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref> On the eve of publishing, Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more [[Epicenity|gender-neutral]] pen name in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name because she has no [[middle name]].{{sfn|Kirk|2003|p=76}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1349288/Harry-Potter-and-the-mystery-of-J-Ks-lost-initial.html|title=Harry Potter and the mystery of J K's lost initial|last=Savill|first=Richard|date=21 June 2001|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=27 September 2008|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220012350/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1349288/Harry-Potter-and-the-mystery-of-J-Ks-lost-initial.html|archive-date=20 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all ''Harry Potter'' books in the United Kingdom, on 26 June 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-9780747532699/|title=Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|access-date=27 November 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626181223/http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-9780747532699/|archive-date=26 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It was released in the United States on 1 September 1998 by [[Scholastic Press|Scholastic]]—the American publisher of the books—as ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'',<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.nypost.com/seven/07022007/news/nationalnews/wild_about_harry_nationalnews_.htm|title=Wild about Harry|access-date=27 September 2008 | date=2 July 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821084927/http://www.nypost.com/seven/07022007/news/nationalnews/wild_about_harry_nationalnews_.htm |archive-date=21 August 2009}}</ref> after the American rights sold for US$105,000—a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/21/business/web21interview.html|title=A Brief Walk Through Time at Scholastic|last=Rozhon|first=Tracie|work=The New York Times|date=21 April 2007|access-date=21 April 2007|page=C3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416133919/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/21/business/web21interview.html|archive-date=16 April 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Scholastic feared that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic, and Rowling suggested the title ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' for the American market.{{sfn|Errington|2017|p=145}} Rowling has later said that she regrets the change.{{sfn|Whited|2015|pp=75}}

The second book, ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' was published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999.<ref name="Harry Potter UK Release Dates">{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/235354|title=A Potter timeline for muggles|date=14 July 2007|work=Toronto Star|access-date=27 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220001353/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/235354|archive-date=20 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 July 2000 |title=Speed-reading after lights out |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jul/19/jkjoannekathleenrowling |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231101931/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jul/19/jkjoannekathleenrowling |archive-date=31 December 2013 |access-date=27 September 2008 |work=The Guardian |location=London |df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' is the longest book in the series, at 766 pages in the UK version and 870 pages in the US version.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/14/business/harry-potter-and-the-internet-pirates.html |title=Harry Potter and the Internet Pirates |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 August 2008 |first=Amy |last=Harmon |date=14 July 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403074718/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/14/business/harry-potter-and-the-internet-pirates.html |archive-date=3 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It was published worldwide in English on 21 June 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/16/harrypotter.books|title=Harry Potter and the hottest day of summer|last=Cassy|first=John|date=16 January 2003|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 September 2008|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231091101/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/16/harrypotter.books|archive-date=31 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' was published on 16 July 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4113663.stm|title=July date for Harry Potter book|date=21 December 2004|work=BBC News|access-date=27 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229024606/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4113663.stm|archive-date=29 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="finale sales">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6912529.stm|title=Harry Potter finale sales hit 11&nbsp;m|work=BBC News|access-date=21 August 2008|date=23 July 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225034725/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6912529.stm|archive-date=25 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The seventh and final novel, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', was published on 21 July 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6320733.stm|title=Rowling unveils last Potter date|date=1 February 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=27 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228101051/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6320733.stm|archive-date=28 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".<ref name="last chapter">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5119836.stm|title=Rowling to kill two in final book|work=BBC News|date=27 June 2006|access-date=25 July 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803133633/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5119836.stm|archive-date=3 August 2009}}</ref>

Rowling retained rights to digital editions and released them on the Pottermore website in 2012. Vendors such as Amazon displayed the ebooks in the form of links to Pottermore, which controlled pricing.{{sfn|Clark|Phillips|2019|p=47}} All seven ''Harry Potter'' novels have been released in unabridged [[audiobook]] versions, with [[Stephen Fry]] reading the British editions and [[Jim Dale]] voicing the series for the American editions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Mokoto |title=The Voice of Harry Potter Can Keep a Secret |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/books/17dale.html |work=The New York Times |date=17 July 2007 |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906002232/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/books/17dale.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Harry Potter Audiobooks and E-Books |url=http://www.mugglenet.com/harry-potter/harry-potter-series/audiobooks-and-e-books/ |website=Mugglenet |publisher=Dose Media |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906002235/http://www.mugglenet.com/harry-potter/harry-potter-series/audiobooks-and-e-books/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> On [[Audible (service)|Audible]], the series has been listened, as of November 2022, for over a billion hours.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63794444 |title=Harry Potter: Fans have listened to books for one billion hours |work=BBC Newsround |date=30 November 2022 |access-date=8 February 2023 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206180533/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63794444 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Translations ===
{{Main|Harry Potter in translation}}
[[File:RIAN archive 168852 The seventh book about Harry Potter goes on sale.jpg|thumb|The Russian translation of ''The Deathly Hallows'' goes on sale in [[Moscow]], 2007]]

The series has been translated into more than 80 languages,<ref name="Harry Potter copies">{{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Scholastic Marks 25 Year Anniversary of The Publication of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |url=http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-marks-25-year-anniversary-publication-jk-rowling-s-harry-potter-and-sorcere |location=New York, New York |publisher=Scholastic |agency= |date=2023-02-06 |access-date=2023-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313054050/http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-marks-25-year-anniversary-publication-jk-rowling-s-harry-potter-and-sorcere|archive-date=13 March 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. The books have seen translations to diverse languages such as [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Urdu language|Urdu]], [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Afrikaans]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Latvian language|Latvian]], [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]. The first volume has been translated into [[Latin]] and even [[Ancient Greek]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/harry_potter.htm|title=Harry Potter in Greek|last=Wilson|first=Andrew|year=2006|publisher=Andrew Wilson|access-date=28 July 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621122227/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/harry_potter.htm|archive-date=21 June 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> making it the longest published work in Ancient Greek since the novels of [[Heliodorus of Emesa]] in the 3rd century AD.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://playalicious.com/reference/news/greek_harry.html |title=Harry Potter? It's All Greek to Me |last=Castle |first=Tim |date=2 December 2004|agency=Reuters |access-date=28 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119214752/http://playalicious.com/reference/news/greek_harry.html |archive-date= 19 January 2008}}</ref> The second volume has also been translated into Latin.<ref>{{cite web|title = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Latin)|url = http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets-latin-9780747588771/|website = Bloomsbury Publishing|access-date = 13 August 2015|first = Skyron|last = LTD|url-status=live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905162802/http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets-latin-9780747588771/|archive-date = 5 September 2015|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

Some of the translators hired to work on the books were well-known authors before their work on ''Harry Potter'', such as [[Viktor Golyshev]], who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. The [[Turkish language|Turkish]] translation of books two to seven was undertaken by [[Sevin Okyay]], a popular literary critic and cultural commentator.<ref>{{cite web|title=Not lost in translation: Harry Potter in Turkish |last=Güler |first=Emrah |url=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=29054|year=2005|work=The Turkish Daily News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930171135/http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=29054|archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date =9 May 2007}}</ref> For reasons of secrecy, translation on a given book could only start after it had been released in English, leading to a lag of several months before the translations were available. This led to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking countries; for example, such was the clamour to read ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' that its English language edition became the first English-language book ever to top the best-seller list in France.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_3036000/3036350.stm|work=BBC News|title=OOTP is best seller in France—in English!|date=1 July 2003|access-date=28 July 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613202533/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_3036000/3036350.stm|archive-date=13 June 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The United States editions were adapted into [[American English]] to make them more understandable to a young American audience.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/potter.html |title=Differences in the UK and US Versions of Four Harry Potter Books |date=21 January 2008 |publisher=FAST US-1 |access-date=17 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319041313/http://www15.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/potter.html |archive-date=19 March 2015}}</ref>

=== Cover art ===
For cover art, Bloomsbury chose painted art in a classic style of design, with the first cover a watercolour and pencil drawing by illustrator [[Thomas Taylor (artist)|Thomas Taylor]] showing Harry boarding the Hogwarts Express, and a title in the font [[Cochin (typeface)|Cochin Bold]].<ref name="Me and Harry Potter">{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Thomas|title=Me and Harry Potter|url=http://www.thomastaylor-author.com/me-and-harry-potter/|website=Thomas Taylor (author site)|date=26 July 2012|access-date=23 September 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923144627/http://www.thomastaylor-author.com/me-and-harry-potter/|archive-date=23 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The first releases of the successive books in the series followed in the same style but somewhat more realistic, illustrating scenes from the books. These covers were created by first [[Cliff Wright (illustrator)|Cliff Wright]] and then Jason Cockroft.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jan/20/books.booksnews|title=Harry Potter beats Austen in sale rooms|last=Thorpe|first=Vanessa|date=20 January 2002|work=The Observer |access-date=21 November 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613021140/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jan/20/books.booksnews|archive-date=13 June 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Due to the appeal of the books among an adult audience, Bloomsbury commissioned a second line of editions in an 'adult' style. These initially used black-and-white photographic art for the covers showing objects from the books (including a very American Hogwarts Express) without depicting people, but later shifted to partial colourisation with a picture of Slytherin's locket on the cover of the final book.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

International and later editions have been created by a range of designers, including [[Mary GrandPré]] for US audiences and [[Mika Launis]] in Finland.<ref>Rowling, J.K. ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''; American edition; [[Scholastic Corporation]]; 2007; Final credits page</ref><ref name=msnbc>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Illustrator puts a bit of herself on Potter cover: GrandPré feels pressure to create something special with each book|publisher=Today.com|date=8 March 2005|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/illustrator-puts-bit-herself-potter-cover-wbna7127158|access-date=12 February 2007|df=dmy-all|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407112748/https://www.today.com/popculture/illustrator-puts-bit-herself-potter-cover-wbna7127158|url-status=live}}</ref> For a later American release, [[Kazu Kibuishi]] created covers in a somewhat anime-influenced style.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/new-harry-potter-covers/ |title=New Harry Potter Covers by Kazu Kibuishi |last=Liu |first=Jonathan H. |date=13 February 2013 |magazine=Wired |access-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712183204/http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/new-harry-potter-covers/ |archive-date=12 July 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name='reading'>{{cite web|url=http://www.reading.org/literacy-daily/literature/post/books/2014/08/15/5-questions-with-kazu-kibuishi-(amulet-series) |title=5 Questions With... Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet series) |last=Hall |first=April |date=15 August 2014 |website=www.reading.org |access-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418145444/http://reading.org/literacy-daily/literature/post/books/2014/08/15/5-questions-with-kazu-kibuishi-%28amulet-series%29 |archive-date=18 April 2015 }}</ref>

== Reception ==
=== Commercial success ===
{{See also|List of best-selling books}}
[[File:Harry Potter lines.jpg|thumb|left|Crowd outside a book store for the midnight release of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''|alt=A large crowd of fans wait outside of a Borders store in Delaware, waiting for the release of ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'']]

The popularity of the ''Harry Potter'' series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other ''Harry Potter'' related license holders. This success has made Rowling the first and thus far only billionaire author.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2004/02/26/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html|title=J. K. Rowling and the Billion-Dollar Empire|last=Watson|first=Julie|date=26 February 2004|work=Forbes|access-date=3 December 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211114104/http://www.forbes.com/2004/02/26/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html|archive-date=11 December 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The books have sold more than 600&nbsp;million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular [[film adaptation]]s produced by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[List of highest-grossing films|all of which have been highly successful in their own right]].<ref name="boxofficemojo">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/|website=Box Office Mojo|title=All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses|date=1998–2008|access-date=29 July 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103063039/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world|archive-date=3 November 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Harry Potter copies" /> The total revenue from the book sales is estimated, as of November 2018, to be around $7.7 billion.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Billion Dollar Business Behind 'Harry Potter' Franchise|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323363|website=entrepreneur|date=18 November 2018|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028235753/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323363|url-status=live}}</ref> The first novel in the series, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books in history.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Chalton|first1=Nicola|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eF8HDgAAQBAJ&q=philosopher%27s+stone+120+million&pg=PA129|title=20th Century in Bite-Sized Chunks|last2=Macardle|first2=Meredith|date=2017-03-15|publisher=Book Sales|isbn=978-0-7858-3510-3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-05|title=Burbank Public Library offering digital copies of first 'Harry Potter' novel to recognize the book's 20th anniversary|url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/news/tn-blr-me-burbank-library-harry-potter-20180831-story.html|access-date=2020-09-03|website=Burbank Leader|language=en-US|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009114803/https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/news/tn-blr-me-burbank-library-harry-potter-20180831-story.html/|url-status=live}}</ref> The films have in turn spawned eight video games and have led to the licensing of more than 400 additional ''Harry Potter'' products. The ''Harry Potter'' brand has been estimated to be worth as much as $25&nbsp;billion.<ref name="Time25" />

The great demand for ''Harry Potter'' novels motivated ''[[The New York Times]]'' to create a separate best-seller list for children's literature in 2000, just before the release of ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. By 24 June 2000, Rowling's novels had been on the list for 79 straight weeks; the first three novels were each on the hardcover best-seller list.<ref name="NYT_2000/06/24">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/24/books/the-times-plans-a-children-s-best-seller-list.html|title=The Times Plans a Children's Best-Seller List|last=Smith|first=Dinitia|date=24 June 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=30 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621233421/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/24/books/the-times-plans-a-children-s-best-seller-list.html|archive-date=21 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> On 12 April 2007, [[Barnes & Noble]] declared that ''Deathly Hallows'' had broken its [[pre-order]] record, with more than 500,000 copies pre-ordered through its site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2007/0413/potterh.html|title=New Harry Potter breaks pre-order record|date=13 April 2007|publisher=RTÉ.ie Entertainment|access-date=23 April 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418090204/http://www.rte.ie/arts/2007/0413/potterh.html|archive-date=18 April 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> For the release of ''Goblet of Fire'', 9,000 [[FedEx]] trucks were used with no other purpose than to deliver the book.<ref name=ew-gof-midnight>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2000/07/21/harry-potter-craze/ |title=Wild About Harry|date=21 July 2000 |access-date=26 October 2019 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Fierman |first=Daniel |quote=When I buy the books for my grandchildren, I have them all gift wrapped but one...that's for me. And I have not been 12 for over 50 years. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331142859/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,276735_2,00.html |archive-date=31 March 2007}}</ref> Together, Amazon.com and [[Barnes & Noble]] pre-sold more than 700,000 copies of the book.<ref name=ew-gof-midnight /> In the United States, the book's initial printing run was 3.8&nbsp;million copies.<ref name=ew-gof-midnight /> This record statistic was broken by ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', with 8.5&nbsp;million, which was then shattered by ''Half-Blood Prince'' with 10.8&nbsp;million copies.<ref name=cnn-hbp>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/07/14/harry.potter/index.html|title=Harry Potter hits midnight frenzy|date=15 July 2005|publisher=CNN|access-date=15 January 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061221021913/http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/07/14/harry.potter/index.html |archive-date = 21 December 2006}}</ref> Within the first 24 hours of its release, 6.9&nbsp;million copies of ''Prince'' were sold in the US; in the UK more than two million copies were sold on the first day.<ref name=bbc-hbp-record>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4700000/newsid_4701400/4701409.stm|title=Worksheet: Half-Blood Prince sets UK record|date=20 July 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=19 January 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204111225/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4700000/newsid_4701400/4701409.stm|archive-date=4 February 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The initial US print run for ''Deathly Hallows'' was 12&nbsp;million copies, and more than a million were pre-ordered through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6452987.stm|title=Record print run for final Potter|date=15 March 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=22 May 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325235438/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6452987.stm|archive-date=25 March 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Fans of the series were so eager for the latest instalment that bookstores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been highly successful in attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' sold in the first 24 hours.<ref name="Harry Potter casts spell at checkouts">{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article545338.ece|work=The Times|title=Harry Potter casts spell at checkouts|date=18 July 2005|access-date=29 July 2008|last=Freeman|first=Simon|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615074030/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article545338.ece|archive-date=15 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Potter book smashes sales records">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4692093.stm|work=BBC News|title=Potter book smashes sales records|date=18 July 2005|access-date=29 July 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227212208/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4692093.stm|archive-date=27 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The final book in the series, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' became the fastest selling book in history, moving 11&nbsp;million units in the first twenty-four hours of release.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/worldbusiness/23iht-potter.4.6789605.html | work=The New York Times | date=23 July 2007 | access-date=30 March 2010 | title='Harry Potter' tale is fastest-selling book in history | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208091143/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/worldbusiness/23iht-potter.4.6789605.html | archive-date=8 December 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> The book sold 2.7&nbsp;million copies in the UK and 8.3&nbsp;million in the US.<ref name="finale sales" /> The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to the release of two editions of each ''Harry Potter'' book, identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/default.aspx?sec=2 |title=Harry Potter at Bloomsbury Publishing&nbsp;– Adult and Children Covers |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |access-date=18 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828054035/http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/default.aspx?sec=2 |archive-date=28 August 2008 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Book
!Sales<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-19 |title=Harry Potter books stats and facts |publisher=WordsRated |url=https://wordsrated.com/harry-potter-stats/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |language=en-US |archive-date=15 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515153907/https://wordsrated.com/harry-potter-stats/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''
|120 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''
|77 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''
|65 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''
|65 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''
|65 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''
|65 million
|-
|''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''
|65 million
|}

=== Literary criticism ===
Early in its history, ''Harry Potter'' received positive reviews. On publication, the first book, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', attracted attention from the Scottish newspapers, such as ''[[The Scotsman]]'', which said it had "all the makings of a classic",<ref name="newspaper-reviews-hp-ps">{{harvnb|Eccleshare|2002|p=10}}</ref> and ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Glasgow Herald]]'', which called it "Magic stuff".<ref name="newspaper-reviews-hp-ps" /> Soon the English newspapers joined in, with ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' comparing it to [[Roald Dahl]]'s work ("comparisons to Dahl are, this time, justified"),<ref name="newspaper-reviews-hp-ps" /> while ''[[The Guardian]]'' called it "a richly textured novel given lift-off by an inventive wit".<ref name="newspaper-reviews-hp-ps" />

By the time of the release of the fifth book, ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' the books began to receive strong criticism from literary scholars. Yale professor, literary scholar, and critic [[Harold Bloom]] raised criticisms of the books' literary merits, saying, "Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing."<ref>{{cite news|work=The Boston Globe|date=24 September 2003|url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/|title=Dumbing down American readers|first=Harold|last=Bloom|access-date=20 June 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617015302/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/|archive-date=17 June 2006|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[A. S. Byatt]] authored an op-ed article in ''The New York Times'' calling Rowling's universe a "secondary secondary world, made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature&nbsp;... written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip."<ref name="Harry Potter and the Childish Adult">{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Harry Potter and the Childish Adult|date=7 July 2003|access-date=1 August 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/07/opinion/harry-potter-and-the-childish-adult.html|first=A. S.|last=Byatt|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417131152/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/07/opinion/harry-potter-and-the-childish-adult.html|archive-date=17 April 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Michael Rosen]], a novelist and poet, held the opinion that the books were not suited for children, as they would be unable to grasp the complex themes. Rosen also stated that "J. K. Rowling is more of an adult writer."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3958599.ece|work=The Times|title=Harry Potter 'is too boring and grown-up for young readers'|date=19 May 2008|access-date=15 January 2011|last=Sweeney|first=Charlene|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615234710/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3958599.ece|archive-date=15 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The critic [[Anthony Holden]] wrote in ''[[The Observer]]'' on his experience of judging ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' for the [[1999 Whitbread Awards]]. His overall view of the series was negative—"the Potter saga was essentially patronising, conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain", and he speaks of "a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jun/25/booksforchildrenandteenagers.guardianchildrensfictionprize2000|work=The Observer|title=Why Harry Potter does not cast a spell over me|date=25 June 2000|access-date=1 August 2008|last=Holden|first=Anthony|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824155219/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jun/25/booksforchildrenandteenagers.guardianchildrensfictionprize2000|archive-date=24 August 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] said, "I have no great opinion of it [...] it seemed a lively kid's fantasy crossed with a '[[school novel]],' good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited."<ref>{{cite news|title=Chronicles of Earthsea|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/feb/09/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror.ursulakleguin|access-date=2 October 2009|location=London|date=9 February 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002164434/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/feb/09/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror.ursulakleguin|archive-date=2 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> By contrast, author [[Fay Weldon]], while admitting that the series is "not what the poets hoped for", nevertheless goes on to say, "but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose".<ref name="Rowling books 'for people with stunted imaginations'">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jul/11/books.harrypotter|work=The Guardian|title=Rowling books 'for people with stunted imaginations'|date=11 July 2003|access-date=1 August 2008|last=Allison|first=Rebecca|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518003516/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jul/11/books.harrypotter|archive-date=18 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The literary critic A. N. Wilson praised the ''Harry Potter'' series in ''[[The Times]]'', stating, "There are not many writers who have JK's [[Dickensian]] ability to make us turn the pages, to weep—openly, with tears splashing—and a few pages later to laugh, at invariably good jokes&nbsp;... We have lived through a decade in which we have followed the publication of the liveliest, funniest, scariest and most moving children's stories ever written."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/children/article2139573.ece|title=Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling|last=Wilson|first=A. N.|date=29 July 2007|work=The Times|access-date=28 September 2008|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706162943/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/children/article2139573.ece|archive-date=6 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Charles Taylor of [[Salon.com]], who is primarily a movie critic,<ref>{{cite news|year=2000 |work=Salon.com |url=http://www.salon.com/col/bios/tayl/index.html |title=Salon Columnist |access-date=3 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616165227/http://www.salon.com/col/bios/tayl/index.html |archive-date=16 June 2008 }}</ref> took issue with Byatt's criticisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point—a teeny one—about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art",<ref name="A.S. Byatt and the goblet of bile" /> he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious [[literary merit]] and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers.<ref name="A.S. Byatt and the goblet of bile">{{cite news|title=A. S. Byatt and the goblet of bile |url=http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2003/07/08/byatt_rowling/index.html |work=Salon.com |date=8 July 2003 |access-date=3 August 2008 |first=Charles |last=Taylor |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616143458/http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2003/07/08/byatt_rowling/index.html |archive-date=16 June 2008 }}</ref> [[Stephen King]] called the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable", and declared "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humor" to be "remarkable". However, he wrote that he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle", the formulaic beginning of all seven books.<ref name="Wild About Harry" /><ref>{{cite news| work=The Guardian| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/dec/31/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling| title=JK Rowling: The mistress of all she surveys| first=Killian| last=Fox| date=31 December 2006| access-date=10 February 2007| location=London| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928204220/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/dec/31/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling| archive-date=28 September 2014| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Sameer Rahim of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' disagreed, saying "It depresses me to see 16- and 17-year-olds reading the series when they could be reading the great novels of childhood such as ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' or ''[[A House for Mr Biswas]]''."<ref>{{cite news| work=The Telegraph| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9202484/The-Casual-Vacancy-why-Im-dreading-JK-Rowlings-adult-novel.html| title=The Casual Vacancy: why I'm dreading JK Rowling's adult novel| first=Sameer| last=Rahim| date=13 April 2012| access-date=28 March 2017| location=London| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102191526/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9202484/The-Casual-Vacancy-why-Im-dreading-JK-Rowlings-adult-novel.html| archive-date=2 January 2018| df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' book critic [[Ron Charles (critic)|Ron Charles]] opined in July 2007 that "through no fault of Rowling's", the cultural and marketing "hysteria" marked by the publication of the later books "trains children and adults to expect the roar of the coliseum, a mass-media experience that no other novel can possibly provide".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301730_pf.html|title=Harry Potter and the Death of Reading|date=15 July 2007|last=Charles|first=Ron|access-date=16 April 2008|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725212731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301730_pf.html|archive-date=25 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Jenny Sawyer wrote in ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' on 25 July 2007 that Harry Potter neither faces a "moral struggle" nor undergoes any ethical growth and is thus "no guide in circumstances in which right and wrong are anything less than black and white".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0725/p09s02-coop.html|title=Missing from 'Harry Potter"&nbsp;– a real moral struggle|last=Sawyer|first=Jenny|access-date=16 April 2008|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=25 July 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193238/http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0725/p09s02-coop.html|archive-date=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In contrast Emily Griesinger described Harry's first passage through to [[Places in Harry Potter#Platform Nine and Three-Quarters|Platform {{frac|9|3|4}}]] as an application of faith and hope, and his encounter with the [[Sorting Hat]] as the first of many in which Harry is shaped by the choices he makes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Griesinger |first=E. |year=2002 |title=Harry Potter and the "deeper magic": narrating hope in children's literature |journal=Christianity and Literature |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=455–480 |doi=10.1177/014833310205100308 }}</ref>

In an 8 November 2002, ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' article, Chris Suellentrop likened Potter to a "trust-fund kid whose success at school is largely attributable to the gifts his friends and relatives lavish upon him".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slate.com/?id=2073627 | title=Harry Potter: Fraud | last=Suellentrop | first=Chris | access-date=16 April 2008 | work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | date=8 November 2002 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327002437/http://www.slate.com/?id=2073627 | archive-date=27 March 2008 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In a 12 August 2007 review of ''Deathly Hallows'' in ''The New York Times'', however, [[Christopher Hitchens]] praised Rowling for "unmooring" her "English school story" from literary precedents "bound up with dreams of wealth and class and snobbery", arguing that she had instead created "a world of youthful democracy and diversity".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/books/review/Hitchens-t.html| title=The Boy Who Lived| last=Hitchens| first=Christopher| access-date=1 April 2008| newspaper=The New York Times| author-link=Christopher Hitchens| date=12 August 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416024446/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/books/review/Hitchens-t.html| archive-date=16 April 2009| url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2016, an article written by [[Diana Mutz|Diana C. Mutz]] compared the politics of Harry Potter to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign. She suggests that these themes are also present in the presidential election and it may play a significant role in how Americans have responded to the campaign.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=C. Mutz|first=Diana|year=2016|title=Harry Potter and the Deathly Donald|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-donald/84B3BED39ACA703DC7B8BE2D5486B185/core-reader|journal=Elections in Focus|volume=49|access-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921153343/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-donald/84B3BED39ACA703DC7B8BE2D5486B185/core-reader|archive-date=21 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

There is ongoing discussion regarding the extent to which the series was inspired by [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s ''Lord of the Rings'' books.<ref>Wetherill, Louise. "Harry Potter: Merely Frodo Baggins with a Wand?", in ''Ampthill Literary Festival Yearbook 2015''. Ampthill: Literary Festival Committee, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-5175506-8-4}}, pp. 85–92.</ref>

=== Thematic critique ===
<!-- This section heading is linked above in the Religion, wealth and remarriage section-->
The portrayal of women in ''Harry Potter'' has been described as complex and varied, but nonetheless conforming to stereotypical and [[patriarchal]] depictions of gender.<ref>{{Harvnb|Heilman|Donaldson|2008|pp=139–41}}; {{Harvnb|Pugh|Wallace|2006}}; {{Harvnb|Eberhardt|2017}}.</ref> Gender divides are ostensibly absent in the books: Hogwarts is [[Mixed-sex education|coeducational]] and women hold positions of power in wizarding society. However, this setting obscures the typecasting of female characters and the general depiction of conventional gender roles.{{sfn|Pugh|Wallace|2006}} According to scholars Elizabeth Heilman and Trevor Donaldson, the subordination of female characters goes further early in the series. The final three books "showcase richer roles and more powerful females": for instance, the series' "most matriarchal character", Molly Weasley, engages substantially in the final battle of ''Deathly Hallows'', while other women are shown as leaders.{{sfn|Heilman|Donaldson|2008|pp=139–41}} Hermione Granger, in particular, becomes an active and independent character essential to the protagonists' battle against evil.{{sfn|Berents|2012|pp= 144–49}} Yet, even particularly capable female characters such as Hermione and [[Minerva McGonagall]] are placed in supporting roles,{{sfn|Heilman|Donaldson|2008|pp= 142–47}} and Hermione's status as a feminist model is debated.{{sfn|Bell|Alexander|2012|pp=1–8}} Girls and women are more frequently shown as emotional, more often defined by their appearance, and less often given agency in family settings.{{sfn|Pugh|Wallace|2006}}{{sfn|Heilman|Donaldson|2008|pp=149–55}}

The social hierarchy of wizards in Rowling's world has drawn debate among critics. "Purebloods" have two wizard parents; "half-bloods" have one; and "Muggle-born" wizards have magical abilities, although neither of their parents is a wizard.{{Sfn|Barratt|2012|p=64}} Lord Voldemort and his followers believe that blood purity is paramount and that Muggles are subhuman.{{Sfn|Barratt|2012|pp=63, 67}} According to the literary scholar Andrew Blake, ''Harry Potter'' rejects blood purity as a basis for social division;{{Sfn|Blake|2002|p=103}} Suman Gupta agrees that Voldemort's philosophy represents "absolute evil";{{sfn|Gupta|2009|p=104}} and Nel and Eccleshare agree that advocates of racial or blood-based hierarchies are antagonists.{{Sfn|Nel|2001|p=44}}{{Sfn|Eccleshare|2002|p=78}} Gupta, following Blake,{{Sfn|Gupta|2009|p=105}} suggests that the essential superiority of wizards over Muggles—wizards can use magic and Muggles cannot—means that the books cannot coherently reject anti-Muggle prejudice by appealing to equality between wizards and Muggles. Rather, according to Gupta, ''Harry Potter'' models a form of tolerance based on the "charity and altruism of those belonging to superior races" towards lesser races.{{sfn|Gupta|2009|pp=108–10}}

''Harry Potter's''{{'s}} depiction of race, specifically the slavery of [[house-elves]], has received varied responses. Scholars such as [[Brycchan Carey]] have praised the books' [[abolitionist]] sentiments, viewing Hermione's [[Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare]] as a model for younger readers' political engagement.{{sfn|Carey|2003|pp=105–107, 114}}{{sfn|Horne|2010|p=76}} Other critics including [[Farah Mendlesohn]] find the portrayal of house-elves "most difficult to accept": the elves are denied the right to free themselves and rely on the benevolence of others like Hermione.{{sfn|Mendlesohn|2002|pp=178–181}}{{sfn|Horne|2010|p=81}} Pharr terms the house-elves a disharmonious element in the series, writing that Rowling leaves their fate hanging;{{sfn|Pharr|2016|pp=12–13}} at the end of ''Deathly Hallows'', the elves remain enslaved and cheerful.{{sfn|Barratt|2012|p=52}} The goblins of the world of Harry Potter have also received criticism for following antisemitic caricatures{{snd}}particularly for their grotesque "hook-nosed" portrayal in the films, an appearance associated with [[Jewish stereotypes]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Levy |first=Marianne |title=Is this picture of Harry Potter's goblin bankers offensive? |url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/harry-potter-is-gringotts-picture-antisemitic-1.482785 |website=The Jewish Chronicle |date=8 April 2019 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=30 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930030859/https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/harry-potter-is-gringotts-picture-antisemitic-1.482785 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Richer |first=Stephen |title=Debunking the Harry Potter Antisemitism Myth |url=https://momentmag.com/debunking-the-harry-potter-anti-semitism-myth/ |website=Moment Magazine |access-date=30 September 2022 |date=14 July 2011 |archive-date=27 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127175405/https://momentmag.com/debunking-the-harry-potter-anti-semitism-myth/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Berlatsky |first=Noah |title=Opinion {{!}} Why most people still miss these antisemitic tropes in "Harry Potter" |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/j-k-rowling-s-harry-potter-goblins-echo-jewish-caricatures-ncna1287043 |website=NBC News |date=6 January 2022 |access-date=30 September 2022 |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328185424/https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/j-k-rowling-s-harry-potter-goblins-echo-jewish-caricatures-ncna1287043 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Controversies ===
{{Main|Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series|Religious debates over the Harry Potter series|Politics of Harry Potter|Tanya Grotter}}

The books have been the subject of [[Lawsuit|legal proceedings]], stemming from various conflicts over copyright and trademark infringements. The popularity and high [[market value]] of the series has led Rowling, her publishers, and film distributor [[Warner Bros.]] to take legal measures to protect their copyright, which have included banning the sale of ''Harry Potter'' imitations, targeting the owners of websites over the "Harry Potter" [[domain name]], and suing author [[Nancy Stouffer]] to counter her accusations that Rowling had plagiarised her work.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scholastic Inc, J.K. Rowling and Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P, Plaintiffs/Counterclaim Defendants, -against- Nancy Stouffer: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|url=http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/stouffer.htm|date=17 September 2002|access-date=12 June 2007|publisher=ICQ|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607163634/http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/stouffer.htm|archive-date=7 June 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Warner Brothers bullying ruins Field family Xmas|last=McCarthy|first=Kieren|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/21/warner_brothers_bullying_ruins_field/|year=2000|work=The Register|access-date=3 May 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103090134/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/21/warner_brothers_bullying_ruins_field/|archive-date=3 November 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2092661.stm|work=BBC News|title=Fake Harry Potter novel hits China|date=4 July 2002|access-date=11 March 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901094955/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2092661.stm|archive-date=1 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Various religious fundamentalists have claimed that the books promote witchcraft and religions such as [[Wicca]] and are therefore unsuitable for children,<ref>O'Kane, Caitlin. [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harry-potter-books-banned-nashville-catholic-school-bans-series-read-by-a-human-being-risk-conjuring-evil-spirits/ Nashville school bans "Harry Potter" series, citing risk of "conjuring evil spirits"]. [[CBS News]]. Retrieved on 3 September 2019. "Rev. Reehil believes, 'The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.' It is unclear if the movies have been banned, since they don't require children to read spells." Archived from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190903050657/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harry-potter-books-banned-nashville-catholic-school-bans-series-read-by-a-human-being-risk-conjuring-evil-spirits/ original]</ref><ref>Anatol, Giselle Liza (2003). ''Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays''. p. 54.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12052212/Religious-parents-want-Harry-Potter-banned-from-the-classroom-because-it-glorifies-witchcraft.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12052212/Religious-parents-want-Harry-Potter-banned-from-the-classroom-because-it-glorifies-witchcraft.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Religious parents want Harry Potter banned from the classroom because it 'glorifies witchcraft'|first=Javier|last=Espinoza|date=16 December 2015|via=The Telegraph }}{{cbignore}}</ref> while critics have criticised the books for promoting various political agendas.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tolkien's Timeless Tale |last=Bonta |first=Steve |magazine=The New American |date=28 January 2002 |volume=18 |issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article2116237.ece|title=Hogwarts is a winner because boys will be sexist neocon boys|last=Liddle|first=Rod|date=21 July 2007|work=The Times|access-date=17 August 2008|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604212652/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article2116237.ece|archive-date=4 June 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The series has landed the [[American Library Association]]s' Top 10 Banned Book List in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2019 with claims it was anti-family, discussed magic and witchcraft, contained actual spells and curses, referenced the occult/Satanism, violence, and had characters who used "nefarious means" to attain goals, as well as conflicts with religious viewpoints.<ref>{{Cite web|last=American Library Association|date=26 March 2013|title=Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists|url=http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10|access-date=2021-03-05|website=Advocacy, Legislation & Issues|language=en|archive-date=24 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724195723/http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10|url-status=live}}</ref>

The books also aroused controversies in the literary and publishing worlds. From 1997 to 1998, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' won almost all the United Kingdom awards judged by children, but none of the children's book awards judged by adults,{{sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=7–14}} and Sandra Beckett suggested the reason was [[intellectual snobbery]] towards books that were popular among children.<ref name="Beckett2008Crossover" /> In 1999, the winner of the [[Whitbread Book Award|Whitbread Book of the Year award]] children's division was entered for the first time on the shortlist for the main award, and one judge threatened to resign if ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' was declared the overall winner; it finished second, very close behind the winner of the poetry prize, [[Seamus Heaney]]'s translation of the [[Anglo-Saxon]] epic ''[[Beowulf]]''.<ref name="Beckett2008Crossover">{{cite book|last=Beckett|first=S.L.|title=Crossover Fiction|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2008|pages=112–115|chapter=Child-to-Adult Crossover Fiction|isbn=978-0-415-98033-3|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ipnQ2ryU7IC&q=%22Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone%22+book+sales+bestseller&pg=PA114|access-date=16 May 2009|archive-date=16 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316064618/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ipnQ2ryU7IC&q=%22Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone%22+book+sales+bestseller&pg=PA114|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2000, shortly before the publication of ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'', the previous three ''Harry Potter'' books topped ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list and a third of the entries were children's books. The newspaper created a new children's section covering children's books, including both fiction and non-fiction, and initially counting only hardback sales. The move was supported by publishers and booksellers.<ref name="NYT_2000/06/24" /> In 2004, ''The New York Times'' further split the children's list, which was still dominated by ''Harry Potter'' books, into sections for series and individual books and removed the ''Harry Potter'' books from the section for individual books.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/ten-years-later-harry-potter-vanishes-from-the-best-seller-list/|title=Ten Years Later, Harry Potter Vanishes From the Best-Seller List|last=Garner|first=D.|date=1 May 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210215250/http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/ten-years-later-harry-potter-vanishes-from-the-best-seller-list/|archive-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The split in 2000 attracted condemnation, praise and some comments that presented both benefits and disadvantages of the move.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/08/16/bestseller/index.html |title=A list of their own |last=Bolonik |first=K. |date=16 August 2000 |work=Salon.com |access-date=16 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504135643/http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/08/16/bestseller/index.html |archive-date=4 May 2009 }}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' suggested that, on the same principle, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' should have created a separate "[[mop-top]]s" list in 1964 when [[The Beatles]] held the top five places in its list, and [[Nielsen Media Research|Nielsen]] should have created a separate game-show list when ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'' dominated the [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Corliss|first=R.|date=21 July 2000|title=Why 'Harry Potter' Did a Harry Houdini|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,50554,00.html|access-date=16 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310173814/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,50554,00.html|archive-date=10 March 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Legacy==
===Influence on literature===
[[File:Harry Potter sculpture in Leicester Square (50725720988).jpg|left|alt=Sculpture of Harry Potter in Leicester Square, London, 2020|thumb|Sculpture of Harry Potter in [[Leicester Square]], London]]

''Harry Potter'' transformed children's literature.{{sfn|Levy|Mendlesohn|2016|pp=8, 164–65}}{{sfn|Butler|2012|p= 232}} In the 1970s, children's books  were generally [[Realism (arts)|realistic]] as opposed to fantastic,{{Sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=106–8}} while adult fantasy became popular because of the influence of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.{{sfn|Stableford|2009|pp=xli, lx–lxi, 72}} The next decade saw an increasing interest in grim, realist themes, with an outflow of fantasy readers and writers to adult works.{{sfn|Levy|Mendlesohn|2016|p=161–62}}{{sfn|Stableford|2009|pp=72–73}}

The commercial success of ''Harry Potter'' reversed this trend.{{sfn|Stableford|2009|p=73}} The scale of its growth had no precedent in the children's market: within four years of the series' inception, it occupied 28% of that field by revenue.{{Sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=108–9}} Children's literature rose in cultural status,{{Sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=105–6}} and fantasy became a dominant genre.{{sfn|Levy|Mendlesohn|2016|pp=164–65}} Older works in the genre, including [[Diana Wynne Jones]]'s ''[[Chrestomanci]]'' series and [[Diane Duane]]'s ''[[Young Wizards]]'', were reprinted and rose in popularity; some authors re-established their careers.{{sfn|Levy|Mendlesohn|2016|p=167}} In the following decades, many ''Harry Potter'' imitators and subversive responses grew popular.{{sfn|Levy|Mendlesohn|2016|p=168–70}}{{sfn|Striphas|2009|pp=158–59, 166–67}}

Rowling has been compared to [[Enid Blyton]], who also wrote in simple language about groups of children and long held sway over the British children's market.{{sfn|Mendlesohn|James|2012|p=167}}{{sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=33–35}} She has also been described as an heir to [[Roald Dahl]].{{sfn|Eccleshare|2002|pp=10–12}} Some critics view ''Harry Potter''{{'s}} rise, along with the concurrent success of [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', as part of a broader shift in reading tastes: a rejection of literary fiction in favour of plot and adventure.{{sfn|Mendlesohn|James|2012|pp=165, 171}} This is reflected in the BBC's 2003 "[[Big Read]]" survey of the UK's favourite books, where Pullman and Rowling ranked at numbers&nbsp;3 and 5, respectively, with very few British literary classics in the top&nbsp;10.{{sfn|Mendlesohn|James|2012|p=165}}

=== Cultural impact ===
{{further|Harry Potter fandom}}
[[File:Harry Potter Platform Kings Cross.jpg|thumb|"Platform {{frac|9|3|4}}" sign on [[London King's Cross railway station]]]]

''Harry Potter'' has been described as a cultural phenomenon.{{sfn|Gunelius|2008|p=99}}{{sfn|Taub|Servaty-Seib|2008|p=13}} The word "Muggle" has spread beyond its origins in the books, entering the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 2003.{{sfn|Gunelius|2008|p=121}} A real-life version of the sport [[Quidditch (sport)|Quidditch]] was created in 2005 and featured as an exhibition tournament in the [[2012 London Olympics]].{{sfn|Popple|2015|pp=194–95}} Characters and elements from the series have inspired [[scientific name]]s of several organisms, including the dinosaur ''[[Dracorex hogwartsia]]'', the spider ''[[Eriovixia gryffindori]]'', the wasp ''[[Ampulex dementor]]'', and the crab ''[[Harryplax severus]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kean|first1=Danuta|title=Harry Potter character provides name for new species of crab|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/27/harry-potter-name-species-crab-harryplax-severus-severus-snape|work=The Guardian|date=27 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223092112/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/27/harry-potter-name-species-crab-harryplax-severus-severus-snape|archive-date=23 February 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Librarian Nancy Knapp pointed out the books' potential to improve [[literacy]] by motivating children to read much more than they otherwise would.<ref name="Knapp2003InDefenseOfHP">{{cite journal|last=Knapp |first=N.F. |year=2003 |title=In Defense of Harry Potter: An Apologia |journal=School Libraries Worldwide |publisher=International Association of School Librarianship |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=78–91 |url=http://www.iasl-online.org/files/jan03-knapp.pdf |access-date=14 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309051050/http://www.iasl-online.org/files/jan03-knapp.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2011 }}</ref> The seven-book series has a word count of 1,083,594 (US edition). Agreeing about the motivating effects, Diane Penrod also praised the books' blending of simple entertainment with "the qualities of highbrow literary fiction", but expressed concern about the distracting effect of the prolific merchandise that accompanies the book launches.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Penrod |first=D |date=December 2001 |title=The Trouble with Harry: A Reason for Teaching Media Literacy to Young Adults |journal=The Writing Instructor |publisher=Professional Writing Program at Purdue University |url=http://www.writinginstructor.com/penrod.html |access-date=16 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216160155/http://www.writinginstructor.com/penrod.html |archive-date=16 December 2008 }}</ref> However, the assumption that Harry Potter books have increased literacy among young people is "largely a folk legend".<ref name=Heilman2008 />

Research by the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] (NEA) has found no increase in reading among children coinciding with the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon, nor has the broader downward trend in reading among Americans been arrested during the rise in the popularity of the Harry Potter books.<ref name=Heilman2008 /><ref>{{Cite web |url= http://arts.gov/sites/default/files/ToRead.pdf |title= To Read or Not to Read; A question of national consequence |publisher= [[National Endowment for the Arts]] |date= November 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151115010136/https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ToRead.pdf |archive-date= 15 November 2015 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> The research also found that children who read Harry Potter books were not more likely to go on to read outside the fantasy and mystery genres.<ref name=Heilman2008 /> NEA chairman [[Dana Gioia]] said the series, "got millions of kids to read a long and reasonably complex series of books. The trouble is that one Harry Potter novel every few years is not enough to reverse the decline in reading."<ref name=Rich2007 />

Many [[fan fiction]] and [[fan art]] works about ''Harry Potter'' have been made. In March 2007, "Harry Potter" was the most commonly searched fan fiction subject on the internet.<ref name=most-searched-fanfiction>{{cite news|url=http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/67161/fantastic-fiction |title=Fantastic Fiction |date=20 March 2007 |access-date=7 April 2007 |last=Hurd |first=Gordon |work=[[Yahoo!]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222003119/http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/67161/fantastic-fiction |archive-date=22 December 2007 }}</ref>
Jennifer Conn used Snape's and Quidditch coach Madam Hooch's teaching methods as examples of what to avoid and what to emulate in clinical teaching,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Conn|first=J.J.|year=2002|title=What can clinical teachers learn from ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''?|journal=Medical Education|volume=36|issue=12|pages=1176–1181|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01376.x|pmid=12472752|citeseerx=10.1.1.463.8854|s2cid=22560995}}</ref> and Joyce Fields wrote that the books illustrate four of the five main topics in a typical first-year sociology class: "sociological concepts including culture, society, and [[socialisation]]; [[Social stratification|stratification]] and [[social inequality]]; [[social institutions]]; and [[social theory]]".<ref name="Fields2007HPSociologicalImagination">{{cite journal|last=Fields|first=J.W.|year=2007|title=''Harry Potter'', Benjamin Bloom, and the Sociological Imagination|journal=International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education|volume=19|issue=2|url=http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE160.pdf|access-date=15 May 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818204930/http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE160.pdf|archive-date=18 August 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

From the early 2000s onwards, several news reports appeared in the UK of the Harry Potter book and movie series driving demand for pet owls,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1716013.stm|title=Potter sparks pet owl demand|date=2001-12-18|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815182750/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1716013.stm|archive-date=15 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and even reports that after the end of the movie series these same pet owls were now being abandoned by their owners.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hundreds-of-pet-owls-abandoned-after-840299|title=Hundreds of pet owls abandoned after Harry Potter craze fades|last=Paul|first=David|date=2012-05-19|work=mirror|access-date=2018-04-12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412145317/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hundreds-of-pet-owls-abandoned-after-840299|archive-date=12 April 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> This led J. K. Rowling to issue several statements urging Harry Potter fans to refrain from purchasing pet owls.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/harry-potter-studio-tour-accused-of-cruelty-over-use-of-owls-in-live-shows-10127081.html|title=Harry Potter tour accused of cruelty for use of live 'Hedwigs'|date=2015-03-23|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412211800/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/harry-potter-studio-tour-accused-of-cruelty-over-use-of-owls-in-live-shows-10127081.html|archive-date=12 April 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Despite the media flurry, research into the popularity of Harry Potter and sales of owls in the UK failed to find any evidence that the Harry Potter franchise had influenced the buying of owls in the country or the number of owls reaching animal shelters and sanctuaries.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Megias|first1=Diane A.|last2=Anderson|first2=Sean C.|last3=Smith|first3=Robert J.|last4=Veríssimo|first4=Diogo|date=2017-10-04|title=Investigating the impact of media on demand for wildlife: A case study of Harry Potter and the UK trade in owls|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=12|issue=10|pages=e0182368|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0182368|pmid=28976986|pmc=5627891|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1282368M|issn=1932-6203|df=dmy-all|doi-access=free}}</ref>

By 2003, a sign marking Platform 9 3/4 was put up at the [[London King's Cross railway station]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=England Trip 2004 - King's Cross Station |url=https://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~hyde/England2004/KingsCross.html |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.eg.bucknell.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Platform 9-3/4, Kings Cross Station, London |url=https://www.mattblaze.org/photos/misc/platform9.75.html |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.mattblaze.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Jim Mimiaga |date=2005-05-05 |title=Hello, Harry! |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2005/05/05/hello-harry-2/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}</ref> with a trolley fixed to the wall added by the year 2005.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-07-30 |title=Pottering around England |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/pottering-around-england/article25678174/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Owen |first=Paul |date=2005-11-18 |title=The Potter trainspotters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/nov/18/harrypotter.features |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The location of the trolley moved after renovations, and a Harry Potter-themed shop opened nearby in 2012.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dWEM-1BoqE |title=Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4, London |date=2012-12-15 |last=LeakyNews |access-date=2025-02-24 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Ellie |date=2012-12-14 |title=Harry Potter shop opens: the verdict |url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2012/dec/14/harry-potter-shop-opens-verdict |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Platform 9 3/4 |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/platform-9-3-4 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> [[Prince Charles]] visited the location in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-01-30 |title=Prince Charles and Camilla visit Harry Potter platform |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/21260378 |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=BBC Newsround |language=en-GB}}</ref>

September 1, the day Harry Potter generally started school at Hogwarts, became known to fans as "Back to Hogwarts Day",<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-01 |title=As fans celebrate #BackToHogwarts day, J.K. Rowling talks about Harry Potter's kid |url=https://www.avclub.com/as-fans-celebrate-backtohogwarts-day-j-k-rowling-tal-1798284047 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-01 |title='Harry Potter' author wishes James S. Potter luck at Hogwarts - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2015/09/01/JK-Rowling-wishes-James-S-Potter-good-luck-at-Hogwarts/6251441133363/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> gaining more prominence starting in 2015 when J.K. Rowling suggested on social media that it was the year Harry Potter would be starting to send of off his own children to Hogwarts, though in 2016 she later acknowledged that she was wrong by a year regarding the King's Cross events in the epilogue.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-09-01 |title=JK Rowling makes 'back to Hogwarts' gaffe by getting key date wrong |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-37250875 |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Tom Felton returns to Hogwarts for Harry Potter film's 20th anniversary |url=https://ew.com/movies/tom-felton-back-to-hogwarts-harry-potter-celebration/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yossman |first=K. J. |date=2023-09-01 |title=Harry Potter Fans Celebrate Back to Hogwarts Day Across the World |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/harry-potter-fans-back-to-hogwarts-day-kings-cross-1235710543/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> On the date in 2024, fans showed up at King's Cross Station even though no event was held and fans were discouraged from attending, reportedly due to crowding issues the year before, and booed when no Hogwarts Express announcement was made at 11 a.m. as in previous years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Media |first=P. A. |date=2024-09-02 |title=Harry Potter fans boo as King's Cross ends 'back to Hogwarts' tradition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/sep/02/harry-potter-fans-kings-cross-hogwarts-express-announcement |access-date=2025-02-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-02 |title=Harry Potter fans boo after Hogwarts Express departures dropped |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgedp5rv27po |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Organizers had encouraged fans to participate in virtual events, while in-person events were held at other locations like [[Grand Central Terminal]] in New York City and Hamburg, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter {{!}} Every moment of magic from Back to Hogwarts day 2024 {{!}} Wizarding World |url=https://www.harrypotter.com/news/every-moment-of-magic-from-back-to-hogwarts-day-2024 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.harrypotter.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Library |first=The Rowling |date=2024-09-01 |title=Everything revealed during the Back to Hogwarts 2024 event - The Rowling Library |url=https://www.therowlinglibrary.com/2024/09/01/everything-revealed-during-the-back-to-hogwarts-2024-event/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter {{!}} Everything you need to know about Back to Hogwarts season 2024 {{!}} Wizarding World |url=https://www.harrypotter.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-for-back-to-hogwarts-2024 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.harrypotter.com |language=en}}</ref>

British book publisher Bloomsbury announced the launch of "Harry Potter Book Night" and associated promotional events in 2014, first held in February 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-02-03 |title=Harry Potter {{!}} Harry Potter Book Night |url=http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-book-night/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203114432/http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-book-night/ |archive-date=3 February 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=MuggleNet |date=2015-02-06 |title=MuggleNet celebrates Harry Potter Book Night! |url=https://www.mugglenet.com/2015/02/mugglenet-celebrate-harry-potter-book-night/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=MuggleNet |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter Book Night for 2015 |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/harry-potter-book-night-2015 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}}</ref> In 2023, the event was rebranded to "Harry Potter Book Day" and moved to October.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bloomsbury Children's Books rebrands Harry Potter Book Night |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bloomsbury-childrens-books-rebrands-harry-potter-book-night |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter Book Day |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/harry-potter/harry-potter-book-day/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=www.bloomsbury.com}}</ref>

== Awards, honours, and recognition ==
{{further|List of awards and nominations received by J. K. Rowling}}

The ''Harry Potter'' series has been recognised by a host of awards since the initial publication of ''Philosopher's Stone'', including a platinum award from the Whitaker Gold and Platinum Book Awards (2001),<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bill|first=Neto|date=19 April 2021|title=Fiction Genres|url=https://ebooksdiscounts.com/literary-genres/fiction-genres/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=eBooks Discounts|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328052246/https://ebooksdiscounts.com/literary-genres/fiction-genres/|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1556674.stm|title=Book honour for Harry Potter author|date=21 September 2001|work=BBC News|access-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228112437/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1556674.stm|archive-date=28 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> three [[Nestlé Smarties Book Prize]]s (1997–1999),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7626896.stm|title=JK Rowling: From rags to riches|date=20 September 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7626896.stm|archive-date=13 July 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> two [[Scottish Arts Council]] Book Awards (1999 and 2001),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1360641.stm|title=Book 'Oscar' for Potter author|date=30 May 2001|work=BBC News|access-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227212449/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1360641.stm|archive-date=27 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the inaugural [[Costa Book Awards|Whitbread children's book of the year award]] (1999),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9907/16/harry/index.html|title=Harry Potter casts a spell on the world|date=18 July 1999|publisher=CNN|access-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726101923/http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9907/16/harry/index.html|archive-date=26 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and the [[British Book Awards|WHSmith book of the year]] (2006),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm|title=Harry Potter: Meet J.K. Rowling|publisher=Scholastic Inc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604101828/http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm|archive-date=4 June 2007 |access-date=27 September 2008}}</ref> among others. In 2000, ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' was nominated for a [[Hugo Award for Best Novel]], and in 2001, ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' won said award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2001 Hugo Awards|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2001-hugo-awards/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=[[Hugo Awards]]|date=26 July 2007|archive-date=7 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164752/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2001-hugo-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref> Honours include a commendation for the [[Carnegie Medal (literary award)|Carnegie Medal]] (1997),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/823533.stm|title=Harry Potter beaten to top award|date=7 July 2000|work=BBC News|access-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228101106/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/823533.stm|archive-date=28 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> a short listing for the [[Guardian Award|Guardian Children's Award]] (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' choices, and best books lists of the [[American Library Association]], ''The New York Times'', [[Chicago Public Library]], and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Arthur A. Levine Books |url=http://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/awards.asp |title=Awards |first=Arthur |last=Levine |access-date=21 May 2006 |date=2001–2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060429093544/http://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/awards.asp |archive-date=29 April 2006 }}</ref>

In 2002, sociologist Andrew Blake named ''Harry Potter'' a British pop culture icon along with the likes of [[James Bond]] and [[Sherlock Holmes]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fenske|first1=Claudia|title=Muggles, Monsters and Magicians: A Literary Analysis of the Harry Potter Series|date=2008|publisher=Peter Lang|page=3}}</ref> In 2003, four of the books were named in the top 24 of the BBC's [[The Big Read]] survey of the best loved novels in the UK.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml "The Big Read: The Top 100"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031065136/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml |date=31 October 2012 }}. BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2016</ref> A 2004 study found that books in the series were commonly read aloud in elementary schools in [[San Diego County, California]].<ref>{{cite journal|year=2004 |title=Interactive Read-Alouds: Is There a Common Set of Implementation Practices? |journal=[[The Reading Teacher]] |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=8–17 |url=http://www.fisherandfrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/rt-read-alouds.pdf |access-date=19 August 2012 |last=Fisher |first=Douglas |doi=10.1598/RT.58.1.1 |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207031123/http://www.fisherandfrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/rt-read-alouds.pdf |archive-date=7 December 2013 }}</ref> Based on a 2007 online poll, the US [[National Education Association]] listed the series in its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".<ref name=NEA2007>{{cite web |url= http://www.nea.org/grants/13154.htm/ |title= Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children |author= National Education Association |year= 2007 |access-date= 19 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120920064649/http://www.nea.org/grants/13154.htm/ |archive-date= 20 September 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>  [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] named Rowling as a runner-up for its 2007 [[Time Person of the Year|Person of the Year]] award, noting the social, moral, and [[Politics of Harry Potter|political inspiration]] she has given [[Harry Potter fandom|her fandom]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695436,00.html|title=Person of the Year 2007 Runners-up: J. K. Rowling|date=23 December 2007|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=23 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221164141/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695436,00.html|archive-date=21 December 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Three of the books placed among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time, or children's novels, in a 2012 survey published by ''[[School Library Journal]]'': ''Sorcerer's Stone'' ranked number three, ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' 12th, and ''Goblet of Fire'' 98th.<ref name=SLJChapter2012>{{cite web |url= http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results |title= Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results |last= Bird |first= Elizabeth |publisher= A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. [[School Library Journal]] (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com) |date= 7 July 2012 |access-date= 19 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120713031015/http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results |archive-date= 13 July 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2007, the seven ''Harry Potter'' book covers were depicted on a [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2000–2009|series of UK postage stamps]] issued by [[Royal Mail]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Owls get the sack, Harry Potter gets a set of stamps |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/21/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling |access-date=22 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922154714/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/21/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, the [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in [[London]] featured a 100-foot tall rendition of Lord Voldemort in a segment designed to showcase the UK's cultural icons.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/london-olympics-voldemort-mary-poppins_n_1710785.html|title=London Olympics: Voldemort, Mary Poppins Have An Epic Duel|last=Bell|first=Crystal|date=2012-07-27|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=2017-08-15|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081107/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/london-olympics-voldemort-mary-poppins_n_1710785.html|archive-date=14 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In November 2019, the [[BBC]] listed the ''Harry Potter'' series on its list of the [[BBC list of 100 'most inspiring' novels|100 most influential novels]].<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788| title = 100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts| work = [[BBC News]]| date = 5 November 2019| access-date = 10 November 2019| archive-date = 3 November 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201103164736/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788| url-status = live}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==
{{further|Wizarding World}}

=== Films ===
{{Main|Harry Potter (film series)}}
[[File:GWR 'Hall' 5972 'Olton Hall' at Doncaster Works.JPG|thumb|The locomotive that features as the "Hogwarts Express" in the film series|alt=The red locomotive train used as the "Hogwarts Express" in the film series. In the front it has the numbers "5912" inscripted on it]]

In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights for ''Harry Potter'' to [[Warner Bros.]] for a reported £1 million (US$2,000,000).{{sfn|Gunelius|2008|pp=8, 37}}{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=210}} Rowling had creative control on the film series, observing the filmmaking process of ''Philosopher's Stone'' and serving as producer on the two-part ''Deathly Hallows'', alongside [[David Heyman]] and [[David Barron (film producer)|David Barron]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100920005538/en/Warner-Bros.-Pictures-Worldwide-Satellite-Trailer-Debut%C2%A0Harry |title=Warner Bros. Pictures mentions J. K. Rowling as producer |publisher=Business Wire |date=20 September 2010 |access-date=24 February 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227092506/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100920005538/en/Warner-Bros.-Pictures-Worldwide-Satellite-Trailer-Debut%C2%A0Harry |archive-date=27 December 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Rowling demanded the principal cast be kept strictly British and Irish, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion or French and Eastern European actors where characters from the book are specified as such.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/nov/16/jkjoannekathleenrowling|work=The Guardian|title=Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|date=16 November 2001|access-date=26 May 2007|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930184717/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/nov/16/jkjoannekathleenrowling|archive-date=30 September 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus]] was selected as the director for ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' (titled "''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''" in the United States).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/034/034098p1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113042745/http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/034/034098p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2008 |title=Chris Columbus to Direct Harry Potter |access-date=8 July 2007 |date=28 March 2000 |website=IGN |last=Linder |first=Bran }}</ref> ''Philosopher's Stone'' was released on 14 November 2001. Just three days after the film's release, production for ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'', also directed by Columbus, began and the film was released on 15 November 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807858489/info |title=Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) |publisher=Yahoo! Inc |access-date=18 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724130653/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807858489/info |archive-date=24 July 2008 }}</ref> Columbus declined to direct ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', only acting as producer. Mexican director [[Alfonso Cuarón]] took over the job, and after shooting in 2003, the film was released on 4 June 2004. Due to the fourth film beginning its production before the third's release, [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]] was chosen as the director for ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'', released on 18 November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/433/433108p1.html|title=Goblet Helmer Confirmed|website=IGN|date=11 August 2003|access-date=29 July 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629051548/http://movies.ign.com/articles/433/433108p1.html|archive-date=29 June 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Newell became the first British director of the series, with television director [[David Yates]] following suit after he was chosen to helm ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''. Production began in January 2006 and the film was released the following year in July 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Sneak peek: ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''|date=6 April 2007|page=28|url=https://ew.com/article/2007/04/03/sneak-peek-harry-potter-and-order-phoenix/|last=Daly|first=Steve|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=26 October 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406191438/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20016352,00.html|archive-date=6 April 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Yates was selected to direct ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', which was released on 15 July 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Harry-Potter-Changes-1005104.aspx |title=Coming Sooner: ''Harry Potter'' Changes Release Date |work=TV Guide |access-date=15 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418151643/http://movies.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Harry-Potter-Changes-1005104.aspx |archive-date=18 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/harry-potter-half-blood-prince-moves/story.aspx?guid={F4F52B7F-D1B1-4DC0-BF8A-AD0D9252BE7A}&dist=hppr |title=Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |date=14 August 2008 |publisher=Market Watch |access-date=17 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820102646/http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/harry-potter-half-blood-prince-moves/story.aspx?guid=%7BF4F52B7F-D1B1-4DC0-BF8A-AD0D9252BE7A%7D |archive-date=20 August 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref> The final instalment in the series, ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' was released in two cinematic parts: ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1|Part 1]]'' on 19 November 2010 and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2|Part 2]]'' on 15 July 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Final 'Harry Potter' book will be split into two movies|date=13 March 2008|url=https://latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-potter13mar13,1,5626063.story|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=13 March 2008|first=Geoff|last=Boucher|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517002014/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-potter13mar13,1,5626063.story|archive-date=17 May 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/june-12-2010-confirmed-final-day-deathly-hallows-principal-photography-73871/ |title=Last Day 12 June 2010 |publisher=Snitchseeker.com |access-date=24 February 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817184257/http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/june-12-2010-confirmed-final-day-deathly-hallows-principal-photography-73871/ |archive-date=17 August 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==== Spin-off prequels ====
{{Main|Fantastic Beasts (film series)}}

A prequel series is planned to consist of five films, taking place before the main series.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fantastic Beasts: JK Rowling confirms there will be five films in Harry Potter spin-off series|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jk-rowlingfive-films-harry-potter-spin-off-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-a7360481.html|website=The Independent|date=14 October 2016|access-date=7 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108003319/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jk-rowlingfive-films-harry-potter-spin-off-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-a7360481.html|archive-date=8 January 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The first film ''[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]'' was released in November 2016, followed by the second ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald]]'' in November 2018 and ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore]]'' in April 2022. Rowling wrote the screenplays for all three films,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a870007/fantastic-beasts-3-cast-release-date-plot-title-city/|title=Fantastic Beasts 3 cast, release date, plot, title and everything you need to know|date=10 December 2018|work=Digital Spy|access-date=28 December 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031505/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a870007/fantastic-beasts-3-cast-release-date-plot-title-city/|archive-date=29 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> marking her foray into screenwriting.

=== Games ===
{{see also|Harry Potter video games}}

Several non-interactive media games and board games have been released such as ''[[Cluedo]] Harry Potter Edition'', ''[[Scene It?]] Harry Potter'' and ''[[Lego Harry Potter]]'' models, which are influenced by the themes of both the novels and films.

There are fourteen ''Harry Potter'' video games, eight corresponding with the films and books and six spin-offs. The film/book-based games are produced by [[Electronic Arts]] (EA), as was ''[[Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup]]'', with the game version of the first entry in the series, ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (PlayStation video game)|Philosopher's Stone]]'', being released in November 2001. ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' went on to become one of the best-selling [[PlayStation]] games ever.<ref name="ownt">{{cite web |url=http://www.ownt.com/qtakes/2003/gamestats/gamestats.shtm |title=All Time Top 20 Best Selling Games |access-date=1 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221044930/http://www.ownt.com/qtakes/2003/gamestats/gamestats.shtm |archive-date=21 February 2006 |date=21 May 2003}}</ref> The video games were released to coincide with the films. Objectives usually occur in and around [[Hogwarts]]. The story and design of the games follow the selected film's characterisation and plot; EA worked closely with Warner Bros. to include scenes from the films. The last game in the series, ''Deathly Hallows'', was split, with ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (video game)|Part 1]]'' released in November 2010 and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (video game)|Part 2]]'' debuting on consoles in July 2011.<ref>[http://www.harrypotter.ea.com/ EA Harry Potter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310225855/http://harrypotter.ea.com/ |date=10 March 2012 }} Retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.ea.com/videos?video_id=89a42107c3649210VgnVCM1000001065140aRCRD EA Harry Potter gameplay] Retrieved 19 June 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701172944/http://www.ea.com/videos?video_id=89a42107c3649210VgnVCM1000001065140aRCRD |date=1 July 2010 }}</ref>

The spin-off games ''[[Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4]]'' and ''[[Lego Harry Potter: Years 5–7]]'' were developed by [[Traveller's Tales]] and published by [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]]. The spin-off games ''[[Book of Spells]]'' and ''[[Book of Potions]]'' were developed by [[London Studio]] and use the [[Wonderbook]], an [[augmented reality]] book designed to be used in conjunction with the [[PlayStation Move]] and [[PlayStation Eye]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson |first=Andy |title=E3 2012: Sony announces intriguing Wonderbook for PS3—Harry Potter author on board |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/351325/sony-announces-intriguing-wonderbook-for-ps3-harry-potter-author-on-board/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608043904/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/351325/sony-announces-intriguing-wonderbook-for-ps3-harry-potter-author-on-board/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 June 2012 |access-date=5 June 2012 |newspaper=Computer and Video Games |date=5 June 2012 }}</ref> The ''Harry Potter'' universe, the Wizarding World, is also featured in ''[[Lego Dimensions]]'', with the settings and side characters featured in the Harry Potter Adventure World, and Harry, Voldemort, and Hermione as playable characters. In 2017, [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]] opened its own Harry Potter-themed game design studio, by the name of [[Portkey Games]], before releasing ''[[Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery|Hogwarts Mystery]]'', developed by Jam City, in 2018 and ''[[Hogwarts Legacy]]'', developed by [[Avalanche Software]], in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game now available on iPhone and iPad, but it's an obnoxious free-to-play game | author = Mayo, Benjamin | work = 9to5Mac | date = 24 April 2018 | access-date = 25 April 2018 |url=https://9to5mac.com/2018/04/25/harry-potter-hogwarts-mystery-game-now-available-on-iphone-and-ipad-but-its-an-obnoxious-free-to-play-game/ | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425134242/https://9to5mac.com/2018/04/25/harry-potter-hogwarts-mystery-game-now-available-on-iphone-and-ipad-but-its-an-obnoxious-free-to-play-game/ | archive-date = 25 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-11 |title=Hogwarts Legacy—extended gameplay showcase |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2022/11/hogwarts-legacy-extended-gameplay-showcase |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Gematsu |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Stage production ===
{{Main|Harry Potter and the Cursed Child}}
[[File:Palace Theatre at Dusk 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|''[[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]]'' playing at the West End's [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]]]]
''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I and II'' is a play which serves as a sequel to the books, beginning nineteen years after the events of ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''. It was written by [[Jack Thorne (writer)|Jack Thorne]] based on an original new story by Thorne, Rowling and [[John Tiffany]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harrypottertheplaylondon.com|title=Harry Potter and the Cursed Child|year=2016|website=Harry Potter The Play|publisher=harrypottertheplaylondon.com|access-date=26 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926023138/http://www.harrypottertheplaylondon.com/|archive-date=26 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It has run at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]] in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] since previews began on 7 June 2016 with an official premiere on 30 June 2016.<ref name="nyt07june2016">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/theater/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-preview.html|title='Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' Begins Previews in London, as Magic Continues|last=Lyall|first=Sarah|date=7 June 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410234000/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/theater/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-preview.html|archive-date=10 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The first four months of tickets for the June–September performances were sold out within several hours upon release.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34660716 | title=First batch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets sell out | work=BBC News | date=29 October 2015 | access-date=29 October 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029094840/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34660716 | archive-date=29 October 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Forthcoming productions are planned for Broadway<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-april-22-2018-broadway-opening-1202083963/|title='Harry Potter And The Cursed Child' Sets April 22, 2018 Broadway Opening|last=Gerard|first=Jeremy|date=4 May 2017|work=Deadline|access-date=4 May 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504184601/http://deadline.com/2017/05/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-april-22-2018-broadway-opening-1202083963/|archive-date=4 May 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and Melbourne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.harrypottertheplay.com/au/|title=Harry Potter and the Cursed Child {{!}} Melbourne|website=Harry Potter and the Cursed Child {{!}} Melbourne|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024044426/https://www.harrypottertheplay.com/au/|archive-date=24 October 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The script was released as a book at the time of the premiere, with a revised version following the next year.

===Television===
{{See also|Wizarding World#Future television series}}
On 25 January 2021, it was reported that a live-action television series has been in early development at [[HBO Max]]. Though it was noted that the series has "complicated rights issues", due to a seven-year rights deal with Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution that included US broadcast, cable and streaming rights to the franchise, which ended in April 2025.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Lesley|title='Harry Potter' Live-Action TV Series in Early Development at HBO Max (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/harry-potter-live-action-tv-series-in-early-development-at-hbo-max-exclusive|date=25 January 2021|access-date=25 January 2021|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428045541/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/harry-potter-live-action-tv-series-in-early-development-at-hbo-max-exclusive|url-status=live}}</ref> On 12 April 2023, the series was confirmed to be in development, and will be streamed on the new streaming service [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] (formerly known as HBO Max).<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=First ever Harry Potter television series ordered by new streaming service, Max |url=https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/first-ever-harry-potter-television-series-coming-to-max |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Wizarding World |language=en |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412214511/https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/first-ever-harry-potter-television-series-coming-to-max |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=Introducing the enhanced streaming service: Max |url=https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/introducing-enhanced-streaming-service-max |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Wizarding World |language=en |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412214510/https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/introducing-enhanced-streaming-service-max |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=Harry Potter |url=https://productionlist.com/production/harry-potter/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Production List {{!}} Film & Television Industry Alliance |language=en-US}}</ref> On 23 February 2024, [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] CEO [[David Zaslav]] announced that the series would debut on Max in 2026. On 25 June 2024, it was announced the series was moved from Max to [[HBO]].<ref>{{cite web|last=White|first=Peter|title='Harry Potter' & 'Welcome To Derry' Moving From Max To HBO As Part Of Big-Budget Streaming Strategy Rethink|url=https://deadline.com/2024/06/harry-potter-welcome-to-derry-moving-from-max-to-hbo-1235983023/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=25 June 2024|access-date=25 June 2024}}</ref> The series is planned to adapt one book per season, with seven seasons planned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tapp |first=Tom |date=2024-02-23 |title='Harry Potter' TV Series Due To Hit Max In 2026: Everything We Know About The Cast, What J.K. Rowling Says & More—Update |url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/harry-potter-tv-series-max-release-date-cast-1235323284/ |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> 

An open casting call for the three leading young actors in the U.K. and Ireland was announced in September 2024, with ''Variety'' reporting that 32,000 children auditioned for the roles, with filming to start in summer 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter {{!}} Open casting call for Harry, Ron and Hermione actors in UK and Ireland {{!}} Wizarding World |url=https://www.harrypotter.com/news/open-casting-call-for-harry-ron-and-hermione-in-uk-and-ireland |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=www.harrypotter.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shafer |first=Ellise |date=2024-12-05 |title='Harry Potter' HBO Series to Film in Summer 2025 After 32,000 Kids Auditioned for Lead Roles |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/harry-potter-hbo-series-summer-2025-auditions-1236232126/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-09 |title=Cast It Talent |url=https://app.castittalent.com/HPCasting |access-date=2025-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909174423/https://app.castittalent.com/HPCasting |archive-date=9 September 2024 }}</ref> In November 2024, it was reported that [[Mark Rylance]] was the front runner to play Dumbledore in the series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Otterson |first=K. J. Yossman,Joe |date=2024-11-11 |title='Harry Potter' TV Series Eyes Mark Rylance for Dumbledore (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/harry-potter-tv-series-mark-rylance-dumbledore-1236204647/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> On 25 February 2025, American actor [[John Lithgow]] confirmed reports that he had been cast as Dumbledore in the series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2025-02-12 |title=John Lithgow Nears Deal To Play Dumbledore In HBO's 'Harry Potter' Series |url=https://deadline.com/2025/02/harry-potter-tv-series-casting-john-lithgow-dumbledore-1236285903/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Northrup |first=Ryan |date=2025-02-25 |title=John Lithgow Confirms Casting As Dumbledore In HBO's Harry Potter: "This Is Going To Define The Last Chapter Of My Life" [Exclusive] |url=https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-show-john-lithgow-dumbledore-casting-confirmed/#:~:text=John%20Lithgow%20confirms%20that%20he,a%20new%20series%20on%20Max. |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> He acknowledged there would be controversy over him playing the role as an American, when the film series only cast British or Irish cast members at Rowling's request, and that he would work with a dialect coach. He also suggested filming would start in August after he finished portraying Roald Dahl on stage in London.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=McPherson |first1=Chris |last2=Weintraub |first2=Steven |date=2025-02-25 |title="There's a Good Deal of Controversy": John Lithgow Knows How Fans Feel About Him Playing Dumbledore in the 'Harry Potter' TV Series [Exclusive] |url=https://collider.com/harry-potter-john-lithgow-dumbledore-casting-controversy-reaction/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref> He said "I don't know the Harry Potter canon by heart as 98% of the world's population seems to," but said that in talks with the producers he was intrigued by how "as the kids grew older [in the books], you learn more and more about Dumbledore, and he became a much more surprising, complicated character."<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeNicola |first=Tiana |date=2025-03-13 |title=John Lithgow Says Dumbledore in HBO's 'Harry Potter' Series Is the 'Last Big Role I'll Probably Play,' Teases Trinity Killer's Return in New 'Dexter' Series |url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/john-lithgow-on-playing-dumbledore-and-returning-to-dexter-1236331996/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> He also said he had started reading the books in preparation.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=John Lithgow doesn't think playing Dumbledore will be 'that hard a job' |url=https://ew.com/john-lithgow-doesnt-think-playing-albus-dumbledore-harry-potter-series-hard-11702286 |access-date=2025-03-25 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}</ref> 

News reports also speculated in March 2025 that a casting notice seeking children as extras near [[Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden]] was for the new series.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-11 |title=TV casting call for kids living near Leavesden 'looks to be for Harry Potter' |url=https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/leisure/24997776.leavesden-tv-extras-casting-call-looks-harry-potter/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Watford Observer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EXP Juniors |url=https://extra-people.com/expjuniors |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Extra People |language=en-GB}}</ref> On 7 March 2025, it was reported that English actor [[Paapa Essiedu]] and English actress [[Janet McTeer]] were in negotiations to portray [[Severus Snape]] and [[Minerva McGonagall]] respectively in the series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2025-03-07 |title='Harry Potter': Janet McTeer In Negotiations To Play McGonagall; Paapa Essiedu Near Deal To Play Snape In HBO Series |url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/harry-potter-series-mcgonnagall-snape-casting-1236313232/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> On 27 May 2025, it was announced that [[Dominic McLaughlin]], [[Alastair Stout]] and [[Arabella Stanton]] were cast as [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]], [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Hermione Granger]] respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldbart |first=Max |date=2025-05-27 |title=HBO's Harry Potter Series Casts Harry, Ron & Hermione |url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/hbos-harry-potter-series-cast-harry-ron-hermione-1236411573/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=Deadline Hollywood |language=en-US}}</ref> On June 9, 2025, it was revealed that [[Bel Powley]] would play Petunia Dursley and [[Daniel Rigby]] would play Vernon Dursley.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/harry-potter-hbo-bel-powley-daniel-rigby-petunia-vernon-dursley-1236423368/ |title='Harry Potter' HBO Series Casts Bel Powley, Daniel Rigby as Petunia and Vernon Dursley |work=Variety |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=June 9, 2025 |access-date=June 10, 2025}}</ref> It was also revealed that Lox Pratt would play Draco Malfoy, [[Johnny Flynn]] would play Lucius Malfoy, [[Katherine Parkinson]] would play Molly Weasley, Leo Earley would play Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni would play Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah would play Lavender Brown, and [[Bertie Carvel]] would play Cornelius Fudge.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/harry-potter-hbo-series-molly-weasley-draco-lucius-malfoy-1236423409/ |title='Harry Potter' HBO Series Finds Molly Weasley, Draco and Lucius Malfoy and More Hogwarts Students |work=Variety |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=June 9, 2025 |access-date=June 10, 2025}}</ref>

===Full-cast audiobook===
In 2024, it was announced that the novels would be adapted into full-cast audio productions with a voice cast of over 100 voice actors to be released in late 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/25/audible-all-seven-jk-rowling-harry-potter-books-full-cast-audiobooks |title="Audible to turn all seven of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books into full-cast audiobooks", ''The Guardian''|work=The Guardian |date=25 April 2024 |last1=Knight |first1=Lucy }}</ref>

== Attractions ==
{{Main|The Wizarding World of Harry Potter|Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter}}
[[File:Wizarding World of Harry Potter Castle.jpg|thumb|right|Hogwarts Castle as depicted in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, located in Universal Orlando Resort's Island of Adventure]]

Universal and Warner Brothers created ''The Wizarding World of Harry Potter'', a ''Harry Potter''-themed expansion to the [[Islands of Adventure]] theme park at [[Universal Orlando Resort]] in Florida. It opened to the public on 18 June 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/wizarding-world-of-harry-potter/os-universal-harry-potter-staying-pow20100617,0,1970029.story|title=Big day is here: Universal hopes Harry Potter's magic will last|first=Jason|last=Garcia|date=17 June 2010|access-date=19 June 2010|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/wizarding-world-of-harry-potter/os-universal-harry-potter-staying-pow20100617,0,1970029.story|archive-date=5 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> It includes a recreation of [[Hogsmeade]] and several rides; its flagship attraction is ''[[Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey]]'', which exists within a recreation of [[Hogwarts]] School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australia-times.com.au/entertainment/article.php?id=7096 |title=Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opens |date=June 19, 2010 |access-date=June 19, 2010 |publisher=Australia Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706101707/http://www.australia-times.com.au/entertainment/article.php?id=7096 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2014 Universal opened a ''Harry Potter''-themed area at the [[Universal Studios Florida]] theme park. It includes a recreation of [[Diagon Alley]].<ref name=tpinsider140708>{{cite news |last=Niles |first=Robert |date=July 8, 2014 |title=The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Diagon Alley opens officially at Universal Studios Florida |url=http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201407/4112/ |work=Theme Park Insider |access-date=15 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915120158/http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201407/4112/ |archive-date=September 15, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The flagship attraction is the ''[[Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts]]'' roller coaster ride.<ref>{{Cite magazine|author=Kohler, Chris|year=2014|title=What to Expect From the Wild New Harry Potter Ride, 'Escape From Gringotts'|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/06/diagon-alley-gringotts-ride/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702225829/http://www.wired.com/2014/06/diagon-alley-gringotts-ride/|archive-date=2 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> A completely functioning [[Hogwarts Express (Universal Orlando Resort)|full-scale replica of the Hogwarts Express]] was created for the Diagon Alley expansion, connecting King's Cross Station at Universal Studios to the Hogsmeade station at Islands of Adventure.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/08/details-on-expansion-of-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter-in-orlando-confirmed-including-diagon-alley-as-second-location?abthid=518a6ec50c27b4992700000e|title=Details on Expansion of Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Confirmed, Including Diagon Alley as Second Location|last=Goldman|first=Eric|date=May 8, 2013|access-date=May 8, 2013|website=IGN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008180723/http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/08/details-on-expansion-of-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter-in-orlando-confirmed-including-diagon-alley-as-second-location?abthid=518a6ec50c27b4992700000e|archive-date=October 8, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="What may come to Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2.0 at Universal Orlando">{{cite news|last=MacDonald|first=Brady|title=What may come to Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2.0 at Universal Orlando|url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-diagon-alley-wizarding-world-harry-potter-universal-studios-05201309,0,640470,full.story|access-date=May 18, 2013|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 9, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510183411/http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-diagon-alley-wizarding-world-harry-potter-universal-studios-05201309%2C0%2C640470%2Cfull.story|archive-date=May 10, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''The Wizarding World of Harry Potter'' opened at the [[Universal Studios Hollywood]] theme park near [[Los Angeles, California]] in 2016,<ref name=nytimes20140409>{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |date=8 April 2014 |title=A Makeover at Universal Studios Hollywood Aims at Disney |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/business/media/a-makeover-of-universal-studios-hollywood-aims-to-catch-up-to-disney.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=[[Universal City, California]] |access-date=12 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912083943/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/business/media/a-makeover-of-universal-studios-hollywood-aims-to-catch-up-to-disney.html |archive-date=12 September 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-wizarding-world-harry-potter-universal-studios-hollywood-20160114-story.html|title=What to expect when the Wizarding World at Universal Studios Hollywood opens in April|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=14 January 2016|access-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403091029/http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-wizarding-world-harry-potter-universal-studios-hollywood-20160114-story.html|archive-date=3 April 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and in [[Universal Studios Japan]] theme park in [[Osaka]], Japan in 2014. The Osaka venue includes the village of Hogsmeade, ''Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey'' ride, and ''[[Flight of the Hippogriff]]'' roller coaster.<ref name=orlando20140418>{{cite news |last=Bevil |first=Dewayne |date=18 April 2014 |title=Universal Studios Japan: Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open July 15 |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-universal-studios-japan-harry-potter-20140418-post.html |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |access-date=12 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912073410/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-universal-studios-japan-harry-potter-20140418-post.html |archive-date=12 September 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name=cnn20140716>{{cite news |last=Cripps |first=Karla |date=16 July 2014 |title=Universal Studios Japan's 'Wizarding World of Harry Potter' opens |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/travel/universal-studios-japan-harry-potter/ |newspaper=[[CNN]] |access-date=12 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912075407/http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/travel/universal-studios-japan-harry-potter/ |archive-date=12 September 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Other ''Harry Potter'' roller coasters are the ''[[Dragon Challenge]]'' which closed to make way for ''[[Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure]]'', at [[Universal Islands of Adventure]].

[[Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter|Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of ''Harry Potter'']] is a behind-the-scenes walking tour in London featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the film series. The attraction is located at [[Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden|Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden]], where all eight of the ''Harry Potter'' films were made. Warner Bros. constructed two new sound stages to house and showcase the sets from each of the British-made productions, following a £100&nbsp;million investment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-12645416|title=Harry Potter tour to open at Leavesden studios in 2012|access-date=18 May 2011|work=BBC News|date=5 March 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325033117/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-12645416|archive-date=25 March 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It opened to the public in March 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16257334 |title=Harry Potter tour at Leavesden Studios reveals new sets |access-date=16 February 2012 |work=BBC News |date=19 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222215659/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16257334 |archive-date=22 February 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A [[Warner Bros. Studio Tours#Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter|Japan based version of the studio tour]] was announced in August 2020 and opened on June 16, 2023,<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Harry Potter Studio Tour Tokyo to Open in 2023 |url=https://jw-webmagazine.com/harry-potter-studio-tour-tokyo/ |website=Japan Web Magazine |date=21 August 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Supplementary works ==
{{See also|J. K. Rowling#Philanthropy}}

Rowling expanded the [[Harry Potter universe|''Harry Potter'' universe]] with short books produced for charities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6903111.stm|title=How Rowling conjured up millions|work=BBC News|access-date=7 September 2008|date=19 July 2007|first=Simon|last=Atkinson|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228111436/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6903111.stm|archive-date=28 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/1198169/used/Comic%20Relief%20:%20Quidditch%20through%20the%20ages |title=Comic Relief: Quidditch Through the Ages|publisher=Albris|access-date=7 September 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726050800/http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/1198169/used/Comic%20Relief%20%3A%20Quidditch%20through%20the%20ages|archive-date=26 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2001, she released ''[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (book)|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]'' (a purported Hogwarts textbook) and ''[[Quidditch Through the Ages]]'' (a book Harry reads for fun). Proceeds from the sale of these two books benefited the charity [[Comic Relief]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comicrelief.com/stuff-to-buy/harrys-books/the-money/|title=The Money|publisher=Comic Relief| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071029034316/http://www.comicrelief.com/stuff-to-buy/harrys-books/the-money/|archive-date=29 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007}}</ref> In 2007, Rowling composed seven handwritten copies of ''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'', a collection of fairy tales that is featured in the final novel, one of which was auctioned to raise money for the Children's High Level Group, a fund for mentally disabled children in poor countries. The book was published internationally on 4 December 2008.<ref name="fetches">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7142656.stm|title=JK Rowling book fetches £2&nbsp;m|date=13 December 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=13 December 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215120757/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7142656.stm|archive-date=15 December 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html?docId=1000137983 |title=The Tales of Beedle the Bard |website=Amazon UK |access-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217031800/http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html?docId=1000137983 |archive-date=17 December 2007 }}</ref> Rowling also wrote an 800-word [[Harry Potter prequel|prequel]] in 2008 as part of a fundraiser organised by the bookseller [[Waterstones]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/29/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling|title=Rowling pens Potter prequel for charities|date=29 May 2008|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|last=Williams|first=Rachel|access-date=30 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002203005/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/may/29/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling|archive-date=2 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> All three of these books contain extra information about the wizarding world not included in the original novels.

In 2016, she released three new e-books: ''[[Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide]]'', ''[[Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists]]'' and ''[[Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Chan |first=Melissa |date=17 August 2016 |title=J.K. Rowling Is About to Release 3 New 'Harry Potter' Books |url=https://time.com/4455746/j-k-rowling-pottermore-new-harry-potter-books/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216234750/http://time.com/4455746/j-k-rowling-pottermore-new-harry-potter-books/ |archive-date=16 December 2016 |access-date=2016-12-22 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

{{anchor|Pottermore}}
Rowling's website [[Pottermore]] was launched in 2012.<ref name="waiting">{{cite web|url=http://insider.pottermore.com/2012/03/waiting-for-pottermore.html |title=Waiting for Pottermore? |work=Pottermore Insider |date=8 March 2012 |access-date=9 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310102525/http://insider.pottermore.com/2012/03/waiting-for-pottermore.html |archive-date=10 March 2012 }}</ref> Pottermore allows users to be sorted, be chosen by their wand and play various minigames. The main purpose of the website was to allow the user to journey through the story with access to content not revealed by JK Rowling previously, with over 18,000 words of additional content.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/23/pottermore-secrets-revealed-j-k-rowlings-new-site-is-e-book-meets-interactive-world/ |title='Pottermore' Secrets Revealed: J.K. Rowling's New Site is E-Book Meets Interactive World |first=Sonia |last=van Gilder Cooke |date=23 June 2011 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829110641/http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/23/pottermore-secrets-revealed-j-k-rowlings-new-site-is-e-book-meets-interactive-world/ |archive-date=29 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The site was redesigned in 2015 as WizardingWorld and it mainly focuses on the information already available, rather than exploration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pottermore|url=https://www.pottermore.com/news/Welcome-to-the-new-Pottermore|website=Pottermore|access-date=8 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926135910/https://www.pottermore.com/news/Welcome-to-the-new-Pottermore|archive-date=26 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|TV}}
* [[Mary Poppins (book series)|''Mary Poppins'']]
* ''[[The Worst Witch]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="meanings">Sources that refer to the many genres, cultural meanings and references of the series include:
* {{cite web|last=Fry|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Fry|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076w0r|title=Living with Harry Potter|publisher=BBC Radio 4|date=10 December 2005|access-date=10 December 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021121215/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076w0r|archive-date=21 October 2014|url-status=dead |ref=none}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Why J.K. Rowling waited to read ''Harry Potter'' to her daughter|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|last=Jensen|first=Jeff|author-link=Jeff Jensen|url=https://ew.com/article/2000/09/07/why-jk-rowling-waited-read-harry-potter-her-daughter|access-date=19 August 2015|date=7 September 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905211717/http://www.ew.com/article/2000/09/07/why-jk-rowling-waited-read-harry-potter-her-daughter|archive-date=5 September 2015|df=dmy-all|ref=none}}
* {{cite web|title=The Last Chapter|author=Nancy Carpentier Brown|publisher=Our Sunday Visitor|year=2007|url=http://www.osv.com/Portals/0/images/pdf/TheLastChapter.pdf|access-date=28 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013134200/http://www.osv.com/Portals/0/images/pdf/TheLastChapter.pdf|archive-date=13 October 2007|url-status=dead|ref=none}}
* {{cite web |author=J. K. Rowling |title=J. K. Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival |url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/news_view.cfm?id=80 |access-date=10 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820213620/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/news_view.cfm?id=80 <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=20 August 2006 |url-status=dead |ref=none}}</ref>

<ref name=Heilman2008>{{harvnb|Heilman|2008|p=2}}</ref>

<ref name=Rich2007>{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/arts/11iht-11potter.6606863.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |last= Rich |first= Motoko |author-link=Motoko Rich |title= Harry Potter has limited effect on reading habits |date= 11 July 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170223130911/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/arts/11iht-11potter.6606863.html |archive-date= 23 February 2017 |df= dmy-all |ref=none}}</ref>
}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
<!-- Book chapters from Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays -->
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|title=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-313-32067-5|location=Westport, Connecticut|oclc=50774592|ref=none}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Brycchan|last=Carey|author-link=Brycchan Carey|title=Hermione and the house-elves: the literary and historical contexts of J. K. Rowling's antislavery campaign|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|encyclopedia=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780313320675}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Ximena|last1=Gallardo|first2=C. Jason|last2=Smith|title=Cinderfella: J. K. Rowling's wily web of gender|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|encyclopedia=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780313320675}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Elaine|last=Ostry|title=Accepting Mudbloods: the ambivalent social vision of J. K. Rowling's fairy tales|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|encyclopedia=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780313320675}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Julia|last=Park|title=Class and socioeconomic identity in Harry Potter's England|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|encyclopedia=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780313320675}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Veronica|last=Shanoes|title=Cruel heroes and treacherous texts: educating the reader in moral complexity and critical reading in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books|editor-last=Anatol|editor-first=Giselle Liza |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780313320675|url-access=registration|encyclopedia=Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays|date=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=9780313320675}}
*{{Cite book|last=Barratt|first=Bethany|title=The Politics of Harry Potter|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|year=2012|isbn=978-0-230-60899-3|location=New York|doi=10.1057/9781137016546}}

<!-- Book chapters from Hermione Granger Saves the World -->
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Bell |editor1-first=Christopher |title=Hermione Granger Saves the World: Essays on the Feminist Heroine of Hogwarts |year=2012 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-7864-7137-9|ref=none}}
** {{cite encyclopedia|first1=Christopher|last1=Bell|first2=Julie|last2=Alexander|title=Introduction|editor1-last=Bell |editor1-first=Christopher |encyclopedia=Hermione Granger Saves the World: Essays on the Feminist Heroine of Hogwarts |year=2012 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]}}
** {{cite encyclopedia|first1=Helen|last1=Berents|title=Hermione Granger goes to war|editor1-last=Bell |editor1-first=Christopher |encyclopedia=Hermione Granger Saves the World: Essays on the Feminist Heroine of Hogwarts |year=2012 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] }}

<!-- Book chapters from Heroism in the Harry Potter Series -->
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena|title=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-317-12211-1|doi=10.4324/9781315586748|ref=none}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Christine|last1=Berberich|title=Harry Potter and the idea of the gentleman as hero|encyclopedia=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Kathleen|last1=McEvoy|title=Heroism at the margins|encyclopedia=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Maria|last1=Nikolajeva|author-link=Maria Nikolajeva|title=Adult heroism and role models in the Harry Potter novels|encyclopedia=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Mary|last1=Pharr|title=A paradox: the Harry Potter series as both epic and postmodern|encyclopedia=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Rita|last1=Singer|title=Harry Potter and the battle for the soul: the revival of the psychomachia in secular fiction|encyclopedia=Heroism in the Harry Potter Series|date=22 April 2016|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor-last1=Berndt|editor-first1=Katrin|editor-last2=Steveker|editor-first2=Lena}}
* {{Cite book|last=Blake|first=Andrew|url=https://archive.org/details/irresistiblerise0000blak|url-access=registration|title=The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter|publisher=[[Verso Books]]|year=2002|isbn=1-85984-666-1|location=London|oclc=49594480}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Catherine|last=Butler|title=Modern children's fantasy|author-link=Catherine Butler|editor1-last=James|editor1-first=Edward|editor1-link=Edward James (historian)|editor2-last=Mendlesohn|editor2-first=Farah|editor2-link=Farah Mendlesohn|encyclopedia=The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2012|isbn=978-0-521-42959-7|doi=10.1017/CCOL9780521429597}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Giles |last2=Phillips |first2=Angus |title=Inside Book Publishing |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-351-26571-3}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Eberhardt|first=Maeve|title=Gendered representations through speech: The case of the Harry Potter series|journal=[[Language and Literature]]|year=2017|volume=26|issue=3|pages=227–246|doi=10.1177/0963947017701851|s2cid=149129001}}
* {{Cite book|last=Eccleshare|first=Julia|author-link=Julia Eccleshare|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetoharrypott0000eccl/|url-access=registration|title=A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels|year=2002|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]]|isbn=978-1-84714-418-8|location=London|oclc=229341237}}
* {{cite book|last=Errington|first=Philip W.|date=2017|title=J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4742-9737-0}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Farmer|first=Joy|date=2001|title=The magician's niece: the kinship between J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis|journal=[[Mythlore]]|volume=23|issue=2|pages=53–64|issn=0146-9339|jstor=26814627}}
* {{Cite book |last=Groves |first=Beatrice |title=Literary Allusion in Harry Potter |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-315-26933-7 |doi=10.4324/9781315269337}}
* {{cite book |last=Gunelius |first=Susan |title=Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-230-59410-4 |doi=10.1057/9780230594104 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Suman|title=Re-Reading Harry Potter|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-230-21958-8|location=London|doi=10.1057/9780230279711|edition=2nd}}

<!-- Book chapters from Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter -->
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|title=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|isbn=978-1-135-89154-1|edition=2nd|doi=10.4324/9780203892817}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Anne Hiebert|last1=Alton|title=Playing the genre game: generic fusions of the Harry Potter series|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Peter|last1=Applebaum|title=The great Snape debate|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Megan L.|last1=Birch|title=Schooling Harry Potter: teachers and learning, power and knowledge|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Peter|last1=Ciaccio|title=Harry Potter and Christian theology|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
**  {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Elizabeth E.|last1=Heilman|first2=Trevor|last2=Donaldson|title=From sexist to (sort-of) feminist representations of gender in the Harry Potter series|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
**  {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Maria|last1=Nikolajeva|author-link=Maria Nikolajeva|title=Harry Potter and the secrets of children's literature|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
**  {{Cite encyclopedia|first1=Deborah J.|last1=Taub|first2=Heather L.|last2=Servaty-Seib|title=Controversial content: is Harry Potter harmful to children?|encyclopedia=Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter|publisher=Routledge|date=7 August 2008|editor-last=Heilman|editor-first=Elizabeth E.|edition=2nd}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Horne|first=Jackie C.|title=Harry and the other: answering the race question in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter|journal=[[The Lion and the Unicorn (journal)|The Lion and the Unicorn]]|volume=34|number=1|year=2010|pages=76–104|doi=10.1353/uni.0.0488|s2cid=143738308|id={{ProQuest|221753179}}}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kirk|first=Connie Ann|author-link= Connie Ann Kirk |url=https://archive.org/details/jkrowlingbiograp0000kirk|url-access=registration|title=J.K. Rowling: A Biography|year=2003|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]]|isbn=0-313-32205-8|oclc=49991592}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Levy|first1=Michael|author1-link=Michael M. Levy|title=[[Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction]]|last2=Mendlesohn|first2=Farah|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-107-01814-3|author2-link=Farah Mendlesohn|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139087421}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Los|first=Fraser|date=2008|title=Harry Potter and the nature of death|journal=Alternatives Journal|volume=34|issue=1|pages= 32–33|jstor=45033580}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Mendlesohn|first1=Farah|author1-link=Farah Mendlesohn|last2=James|first2=Edward|author2-link=Edward James (historian)|title=A Short History of Fantasy|publisher=Libri Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-1-907471-66-7|oclc=857653620}}
* {{Cite book|last=Nel|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Nel |url=https://archive.org/details/jkrowlingsharryp0000nelp|url-access=registration|title=J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide|year=2001|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]]|isbn=0-8264-5232-9|location=New York|oclc=47050453}}
* {{cite book |last=Popple |first=Jennifer E. |chapter=Embracing the magic: Muggle Quidditch and the transformation of gender equality from fantasy to reality |editor-last=Brenner |editor-first=Lisa S. |title=Playing Harry Potter: Essays and Interviews on Fandom and Performance |year=2015 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-2136-4}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Pugh|first1=Tison|last2=Wallace|first2=David L.|title=Heteronormative heroism and queering the school story in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series|journal=[[Children's Literature Association Quarterly]]|volume=31|issue=3|date=Fall 2006|pages=260–281|doi=10.1353/chq.2006.0053|s2cid=143508785 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Sean|url=https://archive.org/details/jkrowlingbiograp0000smit_j1n9|url-access=registration|title=J.K. Rowling: A Biography|year=2002|publisher=[[Random House|Arrow Books]]|isbn=0-09-944542-5|oclc=51303518}}
* {{Cite book|last=Stableford|first=Brian M.|author-link=Brian Stableford|title=The A to Z of Fantasy Literature|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8108-6345-3|oclc=1200815959}}
* {{Cite book|last=Striphas|first=Theodore G.|title=The Late Age of Print: Everyday Book Culture from Consumerism to Control|title-link=The Late Age of Print|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-231-14814-6|location=New York|pages=[[iarchive:lateageofprintev0000stri/page/141/mode/1up|141–174]]|chapter=Harry Potter and the Culture of the Copy|oclc=256532755|author-link=Ted Striphas}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Stojilkov|first=Andrea|date=2015|title=Life(and)death in 'Harry Potter': the immortality of love and soul|journal=Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal|volume=48|issue=2|pages=133–148|issn=0027-1276|jstor=44030425}}

<!-- Book chapters from The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter -->
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ivorytowerharryp00unse |title=The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon |publisher=[[University of Missouri Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8262-6330-8 |editor-last1=Whited |editor-first1=Lana A. |location=Columbia, Missouri |oclc=56424948 |url-access=registration |ref=none}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia |first1=Terri |last1=Doughty |title=Locating Harry Potter in the 'Boys' Book' market |url=https://archive.org/details/ivorytowerharryp00unse |encyclopedia=The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon |publisher=[[University of Missouri Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=9780826214430 |editor-last1=Whited |editor-first1=Lana A. |url-access=registration}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia |first=Farah |last=Mendlesohn |author-link=Farah Mendlesohn |title=Crowning the king: Harry Potter and the construction of authority |url=https://archive.org/details/ivorytowerharryp00unse |encyclopedia=The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon |publisher=[[University of Missouri Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=9780826214430 |editor-last1=Whited |editor-first1=Lana A. |url-access=registration}}
** {{Cite encyclopedia |first=Roni |last=Natov |title=Harry Potter and the extraordinariness of the ordinary |url=https://archive.org/details/ivorytowerharryp00unse |encyclopedia=The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon |publisher=[[University of Missouri Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=9780826214430 |editor-last1=Whited |editor-first1=Lana A. |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |chapter=A survey of the critical reception of the Harry Potter series |last=Whited |first=Lana A. |title=Critical Insights: The Harry Potter Series |editor1-last=Grimes |editor1-first=M. Katherine |editor2-last=Whited |editor2-first=Lana A. |date=2015 |publisher=[[Grey House Publishing|Salem Press]] |isbn=978-1-61925-520-3 |id={{EBSCOhost|108515151|dbcode=lkh}}}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite web |last=Allardice |first=Lisa |date=18 June 2022 |title='There was practically a riot at King's Cross': an oral history of Harry Potter at 25 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/18/riot-kings-cross-oral-history-harry-potter-philosophers-stone-25-publishers |access-date=26 August 2024 |website=The Guardian}}
* {{Cite book |last=Burkart |first=Gina |year=2005 |title=A parent's guide to Harry Potter |url=https://archive.org/details/parentsguidetoha00burk |url-access=registration |quote=Harry Potter. |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-3288-0 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Duriez |first=Colin |year=2007 |title=Field Guide to Harry Potter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZwZWP5Sl3AC&q=Harry%20Potter&pg=PP1 |publisher=IVP Books |isbn=978-0-8308-3430-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Mulholland |first=Neil |year=2007 |title=The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BoX-6R21MgQC&q=Harry%20Potter&pg=PP1 |publisher=BenBella Books |isbn=978-1-932100-88-4 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Silvester |first=William |year=2010 |title=Harry Potter Collector's Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hnRQmAEACAAJ |publisher=Krause |isbn=978-1-4402-0897-3 }}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Wikipedia - Harry Potter (spoken by AI voice).mp3|date=28 October 2024}}
{{Sister project links|wikt=Appendix:Harry Potter |commons=yes |commonscat=yes |n= |q=Harry Potter (series) |b=Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter |d=Q8337|voy=Harry Potter tourism}}
* [https://www.harrypotter.com/ HarryPotter.com] Wizarding World Digital/Warner Brothers Entertainment
* [http://harrypotter.scholastic.com/ Harry Potter] at Scholastic.com (US publisher)
* [https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter/ Harry Potter] at Bloomsbury (U.K. publisher)
* [http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/site/index.html Archived official movie site] Warner Brothers
* {{NYTtopic|complete_coverage/harry_potter|Harry Potter}}

{{Harry Potter|state=uncollapsed}}
{{J. K. Rowling}}
{{BILBY Younger Readers Award}}
{{BILBY Older Readers Award}}
{{Portal bar|Children's literature|Speculative fiction|Literature|1990s|2000s}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Harry Potter| ]]
[[Category:20th-century British children's literature]]
[[Category:21st-century British children's literature]]
[[Category:BILBY Award–winning works]]
[[Category:Boarding school fiction]]
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[[Category:Book series introduced in 1997]]
[[Category:British bildungsromans]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Children's books about magic]]
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[[Category:Children's books set in schools]]
[[Category:Contemporary fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Culture of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Novels about dragons]]
[[Category:Elves in popular culture]]
[[Category:Fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Fiction about curses]]
[[Category:Giants in popular culture]]
[[Category:Fiction about invisibility]]
[[Category:Novels about secret societies]]
[[Category:Fiction about wizards]]
[[Category:Ghosts in popular culture]]
[[Category:Heptalogies]]
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[[Category:Novels by J. K. Rowling]]
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