Awards probably fill the basement of J.K. Rowling’s abode; this is another to add to the pile. With the Harry Potter book series all wrapped up, I think this is a fair title to bestow on the lady that spun fables till she became wealthier than the Queen. We get the following quote from EW about their selection via Sci Fi Wire:
The magazine said the author—who has sold nearly 400 million copies of her series, which has also been adapted into a hit movie franchise—deserved the honor for getting “people to tote around her big, old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet.”
Rowling was in a class by herself on the magazine’s list of the year’s top entertainers, which was separated by editors into five other categories: prodigies, class clowns, most popular, most buzzed-about and valedictorians, the wire service reported.
Rowling deserves this honor. Her story from modesty to majesty is a fairy tale that rivals anything she has written. She has put books in the hands of countless children and has ignited in them a desire to read. I cannot remember in my lived experience another author that has demanded such a following from children and adults alike. This lady is the Mohammed Ali of children’s literature.
Time will tell if these books are elevated to the cannon of classics. Perhaps children 200 years from now will be able to join the throngs before them in reading these tales. The only benefit future readers will have is the knowledge that Dumbledore is gay. It is the timeless nature of a good book that makes it such a rewarding art-form. As a people we love to communicate through story, and we tend to keep the good ones close to us as we pass from one age to the next. I have a feeling J.K. Rowling has created stories that will live on for many generations to come. This award is certainly appropriate, and good on EW for giving credit where it is due.
