Last week’s Pottermore announcement has sent the world into a frenzy. After seven days of guessing and awaiting, J.K. Rowling finally announced today exactly what Pottermore will be; the release of Harry Potter into the digital era. It comes as minor disappointment, as many Harry Potter fans anticipated the announcement of Pottermore to be the release yet another book. Instead, Pottermore is set to be a free interactive website that will keep the Harry Potter world alive.
Many blogs and online chat forums were flooded with ideas about Pottermore last week. Fans suggested Pottermore to be the announcement of an eighth Harry Potter book, while others hinted Pottermore to be Rowling’s Harry Potter encyclopedia. On Monday, Hollywooddame.com posted that Pottermore could well be an acronym for ‘Potter Multimedia Online Resource Encyclopedia’. After such an exhausting week, we learned today that Pottermore will in fact be a unique online reading experience like no other.
After seven amazing books and the release of the eighth (and final) Harry Potter film, it was only fair that Rowling continued to keep Harry Potter alive for fans, through the world wide web. Pottermore comes as a thank you to Rowling’s readers, as “no author could have asked for a more diverse and loyal readership.” The announcement of something called Pottermore came as a shock to the world last week. Rowling gave nothing away until today, when she posted a video of herself on the Pottermore website, explaining what this new phenomena will be.
Pottermore is set to be a free website, designed by Rowling, that builds an exciting, unique and completely safe online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books. It is going to be an interactive experience for readers, fans and authors alike, bringing together the Harry Potter world and our obsession with it. Readers of any age and place will be able to share, participate in and rediscover the world and story of Harry Potter. In the video, Rowling adds, “It will be the same story with a few crucial additions. The most important is you.”
Pottermore will also be the exclusive site where digital Harry Potter books will be up for purchase as well as Harry Potter e-books. This comes after years of Rowling’s refusal to adapt to the digital age. According to pedestrian.tv, Pottermore will include around 18, 000 new words related to the world of Harry and his friends. On entrance to Pottermore, users will be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses’ and have full access to content that is exclusive to their house. However, these are all just rumors at this stage, as Rowling is giving nothing away. What we do know for sure however is that Rowling will sharing information about the Harry Potter world that she has been holding for some time.
Unfortunately, Pottermore will not be available until October, Harry Potter fans are encouraged to log into the Pottermore website on 31st July, for the chance to enter Pottermore early. Although Harry Potter fans are extremely excited for the official launch of Pottermore, it is hard not to wonder, what exactly this phenomena will mean for the story of Harry Potter? After so many years will Pottermore further evolve Harry Potter, or corrupt it? And finally, if Harry Potter has found its way onto the world wide web, will Twilight and stories alike follow?
