What happened in 1997?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the UK
on July 1, 1997, by Bloomsbury Press; very soon afterwards, the news
broke of her $100,000 advance from Scholastic for the American publishing
rights (it came out in the U.S. on Sept. 1, 1998).
During 1997, Rowling finished writing Book 2, and a U.K. publication
date was announced for July 1998. By this time, she had spent about
5 years simply plotting out the whole series, so even this early on
she knew what would be happening in Books 6 and 7.
| Rating | 1997 | Title & highlights* | Links | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995: Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone completed; Rowling contracts
with agent Christopher Little October 1996: Bloomsbury Press agrees to publish the book February 1997: Scottish Arts Council awards Rowling £8,000 ( $13,000); Rowling buys a computer in order to finish the second book April 1997: Arthur Levine of Scholastic Books bids $105,000 for American rights |
||||
| *** | June 24 | Happy Ending, and That's for Beginners The Herald [Glasgow]
|
text | interview |
| 26 June 1997: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone published in the UK | ||||
| * | June 28 | Volumes of choice for the holidays The Scotsman [Edinburgh] |
text | review |
| *** | June 29 | Tales from a Single Mother The Sunday Times [UK] |
text | interview |
| ** | July 7 | $100,000 Success Story for Penniless Mother The Telegraph [London] |
text | contains interview |
| ** | July 8 | Debut author and single mother sells children's book for
$100,000 The Guardian |
text | contains interview |
| ** | July 8 | First Attempt at Fantasy becomes a $100,000 reality The Scotsman [Edinburgh] |
text | contains interview |
| ** | July 8 | Book Written in Edinburgh Cafe Sells for $100,000 The Herald [Glasgow] |
text | contains interview |
| * | July 8 | £60,000 for novel written in cafe Western Morning News [Devon, Cornwall, West Somerset and West Dorset] |
text | brief report w/ quotes |
| *** | August 2 | From the Dole to Hollywood Telegraph.co.uk [London] |
text | interview |
November 1997: Harry Potter
and the Philosopher's Stone wins the  Smarties
Prize |
||||
| * | November 19 | Children Pick Winner of £2,500 Literary Prize The Herald [Glasgow] |
text | brief report w/ quotes |
| *** | November 20 | Coffee in One Hand, Baby in Another - A Recipe for Success The Scotsman [Edinburgh] |
text | interview |
| *** | November 21 | Joanne Rowling's Secret is Out The Independent [London] |
text | interview |
| ??? | December 17 | Blue Peter TV Show appearance Note: This date confirmed by BBC (thanks Melissa!) |
??? | ??? |
| Rating | 1997 | Title & highlights* | Links | Type |
*Article highlights created by Deborah Skinner (aka 'Madam Scoop')
If you know of additional articles, please contact us
Original page date 21 September 2006; last updated 6 January, 2008