One reporter reacts to JKR's revelations

[Tiffany B. Clark]

colebiancardi:

huh?  JKR's imagined view of a character is what brought that
character to life and to us.   I know that George Lucas, the creator
of Star Wars, has made all of the comics & novels written about the
Star Wars universe canonical, even though they are the movies or
stories he has written himself.

I would think that any of JKR's works or viewpoints are canonical,
even if some of her views contradict each other.  

Who gets to decide what is canonical?  I would think the author does.

Tiffany:

I would say the author/creator decides what is truly canonical 
because they breathe life into the work itself, but the fandom is 
also open to deciding if just the actual work created is canonical, 
in this case the novels or the interviews qualify as canonical also. 
I consider JKR's interviews to be canonical, even though I've found a 
lot about them that I don't agree with.  JKR may not always get her 
facts straight, but as long as the overall themes & elements remain 
unchanged it's not a big deal because I'm not one to be hung up on 
details.  Heck, I've laughed myself silly at some of the errors in 
both DH & her interviews, but overall it's not a bone to pick of mine.

There's a similar debate among the Trek fans I know about if just the 
shows & movies are canonical or if the reference books qualify also.  
I have a cousin who's huge on Trek & Rodenberry was quoted as saying 
that the only Trek canon is what's on either a movie or TV screen.  
However, some folks consider the reference books on Trek to be 
canonical also.  I don't have any take on it one way or the other, so 
I won't speculate on which way I lean with Trek canon.