It was wonderful to see the Harry Potter franchise honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts with the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. What was even more special was getting to hear David Heyman and JK Rowling speak during the acceptance. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out on Youtube:
But perhaps the best part was hearing JK Rowling's interview on the red carpet, where when asked what she was writing now, she said she had "several things on the go at once." Although she doesn't know which will actually first appear in print, she's "writing hard."
As it's now been four years since she submitted Deathly Hallows for publication, it seems to me that we should be hearing about a new release sometime this year. But what would it be if she's working on several things?
We know she's said at some point in time she would do a Harry Potter Encyclopedia. She's also said previously that she was working on some sort of "political fairytale" for younger readers. Then, during her Oprah interview and when receiving the Andersen award, she heavily hinted at revisiting Harry's world but with a different character.
I don't know about you, but I think this last possibility gets my hopes up the highest, though I'd also love to see the encyclopedia, if only to find out if any of my Egyptian mythology subtext theories are correct. :-)
What would you most want to see next from JK Rowling?
I'd actually be disappointed if it was the encyclopedia. Though I own all of the "extra" books from HP, I think it's time to really delve into a new story. I too would love to see her continue the saga with a new POV!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I think you're by no means alone in hoping to see a new book set in the same world. From what I'm seeing in fanfiction and around the net, high hopes are placed on the next generation, particularly Harry's son Albus Severus.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine the pressure on her for whatever comes out next, though.
I would think she'd feel enormous pressure about what to put out next. And she can afford to wait to make sure it's the best. I'd love to see Hogwartz revisisted but with different characters!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see just about anything. Like the others have said, she's under so much pressure to perform, that it must be difficult to deviate too much from the fantasy world she's created. At the same time, I'm immensely curious about her writing style with other genres. We'll see :)
ReplyDeleteLaura, you know what your post made me thing -- what if she did another book in that world, but not set at Hogwarts? She has such a full world, she has a lot of options to choose from. Though if she followed the younger generation, it would make sense to be at Hogwarts.
ReplyDeleteJess - thanks so much for visiting! I'm also curious to see what she could do with something else. I'm particularly curious to see if she'd keep the strong mystery thread and subtext running through a different style work.