An article in the Life section of USA Today discusses a new Harry Potter book from an unknown author. You've never heard of her because she is primarily a writer of fan fiction. Her name is Melissa Anelli, and she has just completed a book entitled, Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Anelli is the 'Web mistress' of the Leaky Cauldron, a enormously popular Potter fan website. There is only one other website that gets more hits in a given month.
J.K. Rowling actually approved of this work and even wrote the foreward. She writes, "The tale of the online fandom is every bit as extraordinary as Harry's own and has left me with a feeling of awe and gratitude." The article mentions Rowling's lawsuit to block another fan's plans to publish a Harry Potter lexicon.
Her approval of some fan fiction and disapproval of other fan fiction seems downright strange to me. The only difference between Anelli's book and the other fan's planned work that I can see is that Anelli's is more of a tribute than anything else. She describes her "love for the boy wizard, the story behind the books, and the growth of the Potter online community." On the other hand, the other potential author (the article does not provide his name) planned on adding some new material and expanding on the vast Potter universe. I suppose I can see the difference, but that line becomes even thinner with every new Potter fanfic novel that is published.
Donahue, Deidre. "Author Touched By Potter's Magic." USA Today 4 Nov. 2008: D1.
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