USA: "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling sits down with school children

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling kicked off her book signing tour in Los Angeles, hosting 1,600 school age children at an event that hopes to foster an interest in reading. Harry Potter might have waved his wand and cast a spell, but author J.K. Rowling sat down and cheerfully signed 1,600 books for schoolkids on Monday (October 15) as she launched her first U.S. book tour in seven years. The 42-year-old British author said that after 10 years of writing to a deadline, she now felt as if she was on vacation and has not yet started writing the promised Harry Potter encyclopedia that fans around the world are awaiting. She gave no clues as to her next project, but told an audience of 1,600 children that Harry Potter would be a hard act to follow. "But, I think, probably, I've done my fantasy, because Harry's world is so large and detailed and I've know it so well and lived in it for 17 years that it would be hard to go out and create another world that did not in some way over lap with Harry's. So, I think fantasy wise, I think that I'm done," she said. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the seventh and final book in the boy wizard series -- became the fastest-selling book in history when it was released in July. More than 11 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours in the United States and Britain. Seated on an oversized red and gold throne in the Kodak Theater -- home to the annual Oscar ceremony -- Rowling read a chapter to a spellbound audience and answered questions from Los Angeles children about her inspiration as a writer and about characters in the series. She will hold similar readings and book signings in New Orleans and New York this month. Despite widespread praise from teachers and parents for boosting interest in reading in children, the Harry Potter books have regularly been banned by schools and libraries in parts of the United States and Britain because of their focus on wizardry. The "Open Book Tour" which has scheduled stops in New Orleans and New York

ITN Source | October 18, 2007

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