Unedited JK Rowling Interview on the Birth of Harry Potter (1998) 

What’s really cool about her is how she knew the full story already, and had the end of 7 written early on. It makes you realize how talented she is.

Little did they know 20+ years later HP has multiple theme parks, 8 movies and people are still rereading the books countless times ✨

she has enriched so many people‘s lives and childhoods. i still reread all the books almost every year bc they are just brilliant.

I started at university in Ed in 1994, I remember going to Nicolsons in my first year and seeing a woman sitting with her baby and she had papers all over the table. It always stuck in my head cos it just wasn't a sight I'd ever seen before - cafe culture hadn't started, starbucks hadn't arrived, I came from a small town - it didn't even occur to me that she could be doing work... in a cafe... with a baby... And then years later The Elephant House christened themselves 'The Birthplace Of Harry Potter'

She was so quirky and a little nerdy then. I am not even a massive Harry Potter fan but she is such a brilliant writer.

What a legend of a woman. I'm 30 now and respect her more than ever. For people like me who came from an abusive family hogwarts was a privilege to escape into. Who knew I'd end up being a better version of myself than if I didn't read her books. Thank you ma'am

She seems so shy and outspoken at the same time.

Writing a book you would want to read yourself, that's great advice. I imagine it's hard to do though

One of the greatest authors of the century. What a time to have lived in the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling.

"My highest ambition would be that long after everyone's forgotten that I was a single mother and that I was poor and that I wrote in cafes people are still reading about Harry Potter, that's my highest ambition." Just read the first book last week for the first time.

This is so fascinating to watch and lovely to see her like this, as a beginner and quite nerdy almost. The fact that this woman created the Wizarding World and everyone in it 20 odd yrs ago, and it's still here is almost mind boggling. The way she talks abt everything that she created is amazing. You can say whatever you like abt her, but she is one hell of an author.

Shes so young, yet you can tell she’s been through a lot. Apologizes when she laugh, maintains deep eye contact, very confident yet terrified… I just wanna hug her and tell her it’s going to be more then ok. I relate to her a lot, thanks for everything JK 🤍

You were as clever as Hermione and you are definitely a genius. Thank you for my childhood J.K.

To write a first novel with that kind of careful planning and stick to it is amazing. And to do that writing as a single mother with a very young child is even more so. Her ability to focus is extraordinary. BTW once she got famous, her violent ex-husband tracked her down, broke into her home and tried to force her to give him money. She’s one tough woman.

Never read a single Harry Potter book, but absolutely fascinated by this woman's story. From destitution to a billionaire, carried by her imagination. Incredible.

As a writer, she’s fascinating to listen to. A real inspiration. It’s clear she believed in herself for so long before anyone else did. She’s totally unapologetically herself. She’s loved around the world for being herself. I cried when she said she wrote long hand then typed up. I felt most seen hearing that. I do that in 2023. Very glad I stumbled upon this video

I don't care what the internet says, no matter how loudly they excrete their horrible agendas. This woman is like the parent i never had. I started reading these books at sixteen having just realized that my entire childhood was wasted in an appartment of a loveless city, i was extremely suicidal and these books were what kept me alive. Oh course, i never had a flying car full of friends come rescue me, and life now isn't much better, but the hope got me through, as it does now.

Never really sat and watched her speak. She's so normal and down to earth. Love her. I'm a bigger fan now than I was 20 minutes ago.

I like how authentic and personal she is in this interview. Fame and success is still very new to her here. Oddly enough 1998 feels like a simpler time...

I dont know what is best, her choice of words, how she speaks, her mind in general. She is truly magical..

Every time a book was released I’d be waiting outside the shop before it opened to pick it up. I did this for every single book, I’d sit at home and read for days getting lost in her world. Loved it, love Harry Potter and love her! Fond fond memories!

I've read her books in English, Spanish, Czech and Russian. Every time I take her books from the shelf I escape from our routine world to the wizarding world indeed. Thank you J.K. rowling for everything

I couldn’t imagine being in her position. Imagine having a world with the depth and intricacies of the Wizarding world at your feet, having birthed it yourself. It’s truly fascinating how the inspiration came about for her and how she’s translated that into such a beautiful world for others to marvel in.

She is very honest, articulate and fun. Her life had not gone well but reading and writing were her comfort and redemption. She wasn't sure why children took to Harry so much but I know. It is story. Great characters and premise but it is the story that carries you along. Also, there will be many children that can, sadly, relate to his early life. Hope, redemption, excitement, courage and friendship. It's easy to see why her stories connect with girls and boys. J. K. Rowling is a delightful person and I'm so pleased she has achieved incredible success. Bravo! Bravo!

She's incredible, I grew up waiting for each new Harry Potter book. When I started reading them it was in my own language, by the time the last 2 were released I bought them in English even though I wasn't fluent yet. But I was too impatient to wait for the books to be translated. So in a way she also helped me learn English faster. I read the last book in only 3 days. Too afraid to leave the house and hear spoilers. Mean kids were trying to spoil everything and made videos telling people which characters will die. It was a crazy time.

„They thought it was a book that would appeal to boys.” And look how that ended! It’s a book that appealed to the whole world.

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite of the lot. Absolutely brilliant plot.

One of the best writers of all time. She is very smart and opened up a very creative world. Harry Potter is my all time favorite.

JKR you really helped me as a young boy (in an abusive household), through Harry, at bad times in my life. Thank you.

Its so incredibly satisfying to know that she was poor and worked hard to get to where she is, an absolute genius

In 1999 I was 6 years old and read Philosopher’s Stone for the first time - I felt so grown up reading a ‘big kid’s’ book. Now I’m almost the same age as Jo was here (I’m 31) and still longing to be a writer myself. I credit my love of reading and writing to Jo. I admire her so much. I grew up with Harry Potter and so will my children and my children’s children. I still reread the books every few years. I feel very privileged that I got to grow up with these books and the films too. Thank you, Jo.

She’s a visionary and a virtuoso of her craft. It’s inspiring to see the belief in herself and overcoming doubt, she’s so unapologetically herself and that’s incredibly admirable. I could never imagine having a world as dense and intricate as the Wizarding at my feet. Us consumers see it as one of the world’s great fantasy stories but for her it’s truly so much more than that - it’s as if Harry Potter and it’s lessons to be learnt from are the magic and beauty of life themselves. Those books and movies mean more to me than she’ll ever know, but that’s what she intended : complete and utter obsession with the thought of magic and Harry, and for me that’s enough knowing my position as a fan of the series fulfilled her wishes. I would love to meet her one day when I hopefully fulfil my ‘absolute ambition’ , as she puts it, and tell her how the magic behind her character and her books helped me and millions of not billions of others so much. Harry Potter allowed us to escape from life and then come back and appreciate it for the beauty is bestows. Thank you Ms Rowling, you will go down in history as one of the all time greats.

Im 37 so I grew up with the books (I’ve read them all) and seen the films. I’m currently playing the Hogwarts Legacy game, just exploring the world she created in video game form is incredible. Thank you JK for everything, from childhood memories to video games. Your a legend!!

She was my hero when I was a kid. I was massively behind in literacy at primary school, like literally 5 years behind. Don't even remember how I got into Harry Potter but I was 3 years ahead within 2 years and knew the names of every character and the name of every spell and what it did. Think it was 1999 we had to do a weekend project on our 'favorite role model' and do a piece on them. Lots of kids did stuff like Batman.... Spiderman... Action Man... The Hulk. A couple of girls did favorite authors. I was the only guy that did an author and I got laughed at so hard by literally everyone for choosing "a girl" as my role model. I don't think it would be out of place in modern settings but back in the 90's admitting that out of everyone you could freely choose you looked up to a role model that wasn't your own sex was seemingly a huge deal. She's gotten a lot of flack the last couple of years for certain opinions but without a doubt she has spent most of her life endeavoring to always be on the right side of things which is admirable.

I was teaching in a German school as a Religious Sister at the time and teaching English and Social Work. These were young adults studying to be Erzieher (social worker) especially for Kindergarten and children living in homes and boarding schools. My young adult students kept coming to me asking what words and phrases meant, and what kind of grammar something was. I answered the questions and asked what they were reading - the answer: Harry Potter. I went to the public library and checked out the first book. I had it read in a week. My reaction: "Brilliant." Right from the beginning I loved the story and understood why young adults were willing to struggle through the book in the English language. The books were not out yet in German but in the coming. The students just could not wait. At the time there was a lot of criticism concerning the books, which thought were unfounded. When students asked me about the criticism. I told them that the author comes from the land of Merlin, the Arthur Legend. There is no real witchcraft in her books. Her books were pure imagination and pulled from Irish myth- thinking of the patronus- the deer, the patron animal of St. Patrick. I remember laughing through many images. One example comes now when Harry first meets Professor Slughorn. Harry watched him coming into the room so that his head was following is stomach. J.K. Rowling is a brilliant writer. I really enjoyed the series with the films. I taught grammar from some of her images and from the way she discribed people and events using descriptive relative clauses, reduced to participle phrases. This was one of the first times, that students paid attention in grammar classes. After the second book of asking about vocab, I offered reading evenings. We read from book 3, 4, and 5 and some of 6, and then I let them loose. They still asked questions but not as many, and we still used her text for grammar. That was rewarding teaching. Thank-you Joanne K. Rowling.

I've had writer's block since university days. Had many experiences since. Been writing technically for the past twenty or so years. JK's wonderful interview is inspiring me to pick up my pen once more. Her tip about planning before writing is well made. Fate is conspiring.

It's 2023 and I find this interview absolutely LOVELY!!

For me , JK Rowling is the most underrated and best writer in history for fantasy storys besides Tolkien. The amount of details she put into the lore of her magical world is beyond crazy. Absolutly beautiful. Everyone who read the books knows what im talking about. I dont care how JK thinks about certain topics , her books will always stay with me untill the very day i leave this planet.

What a woman! I just love her, her authenticity is unparalleled. Her highest ambition definitely came true, Harry remained timeless. I so understand her on the subject of fame, she's just brilliant

Knowing that she has bit of each books already written after publishing the 1st book is sooo impressive !

17:12 the face she made after almost spoiling the last book 9 years before a release is hilarious 😂

Just started reading the series for the first time in my life (22 years) I was raised a JW and my mom would never let me come close to these books or movies. I just started Order of The Phoenix, I started the series less than a week ago. It is a completely enchanting world.

Whar a wonderful unedited interview. Really interesting. She's fascinating. More please!

It's super interesting, looking at the window behind her. You can see where she got so many of her ideas from. Just people watching, the night bus, the old buildings and secret doors.

This interview is extraordinary. So interesting to see her behaviour at the start of her career. You can see this story being escapism for her insecurities. Little did she know the rest of the world would agree.

I find it interesting that she can create soooo many characters and most have a great deal of depth. She is truely talented and thank you.

That's beautiful, beautiful interview.

I think it was Bob Dylan who said that nobody really creates music; the songs floats "on the air"' and you just need to be in the right place and moment to catch them. As brilliant as J.K. Rowling is, she certainly had her "catching" moment that brought the Harry Potter universe to us.

What a wonderful interview. She is a national treasure. Thank you for writing about an orphan, later a Father who never had one.

Imagine those 3 publishers that turned down Harry Potter. Damn.

Lovely to see her here recalling those crazy early years as a younger writer. Nevermind the life changing journey of it all. A very unusual lady and outcome. Fascinating.

I devoured those books when I was a kid. I read through all of them, and waited eagerly for each new installment. To me, the JK initials generated a mystery about the author which intrigued me all the more. After the fact, it is apparent she is a highly admirable artist.

How incredible that future generations will have these videos to look back to, hundreds of years in the future. Like knowing Jane Austen in all her glory!

You are very interesting and inspiring! Merciiiii merciii merci for that wonderful authentic interview ❤🎉

Remarkable woman. I will always be a fan of hers and that of her HP stories and the way she fought to keep the core and ancillary characters British for the movies.

Wow what a fascinating early days interview! I watched this taking in every little detail. This woman is a genius, it's clear that she wrote for her pure pleasure and she created one of the most fantastic worlds in the history of writing, and gave us so many childhood memories that will be passed on generation to generation. Absolute gem!

I got the book for my daughter, at the time parents everywhere were talking about this new children's book called HP. I remember quite clearly reading the second, perhaps third, chapter and knowing without doubt this was going to become a literary classic for children. Like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was, for instance. And that children would be reading the HP book for generations to come (and at the time it was only the one book). It was really quite spooky/unworldly, I can't remember ever having such a sure fire conviction that I was experiencing a phenomena in real time, even as I read the book itself. And that's not to say I couldn't see the "faults", it is a children's book after all, or that it was derivative. But that didn't matter, it was like a supernova of storytelling.

It's so good to hear Jo speaking about any book she wrote because she speaks with so much love and care that I could listen forever.

Harry Potter is a work of genius. Must have been absolutely thrilling to be able to come up with the actual books. The whole story is on par with Tolkien's saga. And, personally, I'd rather reread HP than the Hobbits story. But that's only me.

Because of J.K Rowling, I became to have a dream of being a writer. I really thank you so much❤

Wow so impressed. Not going to lie, I wasn’t obsessed with Harry Potter but now having lived in london and watching this interview, it is completely different

Wonderful interview

Love this lady, her talent and her vision!❤😊 ✌️👍👍 Thank you J.K. for all your wonderful work!

After listening to her it's like she already planned the course of story for 6 books in advance like from starting in first chapter of first book to last chapter last book, Harry Potter is the book which is worth a research on it's own and good source of reference and inspiration for aspiring author/writer like myself. The way she came up with names of character, the props in storyline, the setting of magical world and it's connection with real world is absolutely brilliant and mind blowing. I used to discuss the books with my best friend and we would spent hours on it when we were in school

Amazing legend. Loved the books then and still love them today. Would love to meet her one day!

I've been a fan of JK since I was 12. She single handedly made me love reading so I'm forever grateful to her. But for some odd reason it had never occurred to me to google her or watch interviews with her. The internet wasn't so ubiquitous back then and I guess I grew up and moved on. This is the first time I hear her speak and see her in video and I'm blown away. What a unique woman and what a brilliant mind. ❤

Harry Potter was insane to me at the time. I remember reading Chamber of Secrets in 2011 (I was 9) and I also gotta say that I wrote a whole book in 2016 inspires by HP. This is the basis of a TV show I am currently writing.

Historically legendary literary writers like C.S Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien etc. She is a shining star in among them forever. So it was fitting that she became J.K. Rowling. But it's kinda heartbreaking to see her here. So brilliant and still so unsure of herself and her worth. She has probably experienced her (un)fair share of bullying from envious and petty "muggles" (She really is Hermione in the first books). You just want to hug her and tell her that you are a beautiful, brilliant lady and a genius. And we adore you for it.

I'm not a harry potter fan but as a writer myself I respect this woman so much! Gives me inspiration to not give up and keep going!

absolute tapestry thank you for sharing ITN

I picture divine intervention when she caught that sudden inspiration on the train, not even kidding. Staring out the window like that relaxes you, almost like in a trance, opening your heart to messages from beyond. Your divine self. 😊 She was given a gift, but more importantly, she embraced it like crazy. Super impressive what she’s been able to create. Thank you JK❤️

She inspired me so much! I remember entering a phone contest where you could telephone a number and enter into a contest to meet her by talking about how Harry Potter impacted you. Didn’t win but fan ever since!

I love her so much 💚she never fails to inspire me

this makes me nostalgic. seeing her so young and this video has such a stereotypical 90's Britain look about it. this makes me think fondly of my childhood. i think this must've been before i got into harry potter as i'm sure the prisoner of azkaban was the latest when i first started reading the philosopher's stone

..I remember when Harry Potter came out, my dad read it to us in the garden camping one summer in 1999, he then bought the audiobooks for me a few years later and back in 2016 I listened to all audiobooks again at the ripe age of 26!! This book series is definitely not just for kids😅 Harry Potter made me love English at school, I wasn't really bothered about books untill JK. So THANK YOU ❤

I love how she compares Hermione to herself & in the series, Hermione takes Harry to the Forest of Dean for safety because she had “happy memories there” during her childhood. Finding out Joanne grew up around there. It makes the reading and knowing the story more wholesome. Growing up in the same area and with our children it’s just extra magical. Harry will never die Joanne 😢❤❤❤

Theres a 'rock star' quality to this interview that im guessing is not normal when it comes to interviews with authors. The only difference is, that her answers are more elaborate and she's obviously more articulate than your average 'front man' or band spokesperson. I love the giggle about people being unaware of wizards living amongst them or whatever it was. She really comes across as someone with a modest ego and displays the innocence of someone of someone who has recently found fame and fortune but wasn't necessarily looking for it. A bit like a lottery winner if you will.

Absolutey incredible brilliance.... it's actually incredible. As a 32 year old that took a year to read the first book in 3rd and 4th grade, i have read every book atkeast 5 times since then. Every few years, i reread/listen to the audiobooks.

I love her so much for giving us Harry Potter, its a big part of my life! I grew up watching the movies and buying the magazines. Even now, I keep rewatching the movies every year and listening to the audiobooks ❤ I can never get bored of the beautiful magical world she created.... Thank you Dear J.K. Rowling ❤❤❤❤

If only George R. R. Martin could have a dedicated work ethic like JK Rowling! It's be more than 13 YEARS since he released his latest ASOIAF book!

I think every aspiring writer should watch this video.

She isnt nerdy. She is natural and expressing herself comfortably. Not polished decked out and turned out for a public show.

It amazes me that there are people like this. Imagine creating a whole new world, whole new theory of living. Like horcrux, all these monsters, places, plots and actual characters. You have to be gifted, have something incredible in your mind to be able to make this up! How did she come up with that? What kind of mind does she have to have to build something like this? My brain doesnt actually understand how a person can wrote all of this, create it. Thats mesmerizing.

She’s a legend. Down to earth. Totally uncomfortable with fame.

Love you Jo! thank you for so much joy and the different emotions that you produce through your books in my life

Things don't come from nowhere. Srinivasa Ramanujan (a genius from India) said that the incredibly advanced math, he had no education in, arrived to him. He said some Hindu god came to him in his sleep and told him the equations

“All are written except for 5”.And it’s the biggest book and made all us cry. Love you JK.

She changed an entire generation!

Love this interview

She always seems so honest and to the point i like that

“But I wasn’t as clever as her…” Mam you literally created her. She’s amazinggg🥹❤️

I remember getting Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for Christmas 1997. I’m sure it was a rare copy but it’s long since been lost

really awesome video

To think an entire world was created from an idea during a train ride! 7 books, 8 HP movies, even books based on subjects taught at Hogwarts and prequels! It is Truly spectacular what J.K.R created, inspiring, uplifting, thought-provoking, whimsical, and so so much more! I heard somewhere that she has much more material that she wrote than what could be put into the 7 books, that’s amazing as well!

So fascinating to listen to. My 2 daughters have just recently discovered their obsession for Harry Potter, and have both just finished reading the first book at age 6 and 8. I have never read the books (although I’ve seen all the movies) but now that they have finished with their books I’m going to give it a go!

That interview was taken above where The Black Medicine cafe is now in Drummond St Edinburgh. Little known fact but Drummond Street is also the birthplace of Ziggy Stardust.

I watched harry potter 1 on a vhs tape and other parts were later released on dvds. I am a published writer today!

Very inspirational - I too am writing a book 📚 part time - I too write visually : she is amazing 🤩

I am not a HP fan but I am a fan of this woman she has done so mutch fun the UK she so down to earth and a genuine person

weird how all literally all the comments here are praising her, while her reputation now is in shambles