Red Herrings and Reconciliation

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 173746

K12listmomma quoted me, Jim Ferer: "You speak of the frustration of
the many, many threads JKR left hanging out   of the tapestry. There
are endless stories left to tell in this universe,   and we're going
to tell them, which leads to a prediction: Within a year or   two,
there will be officially sanctioned volumes of fiction written by us,
  the fans, published by Bloomsbury / Scholastic et. al., perhaps
selected and   even introduced by JKR. There's plenty of precedent for
it."

And she answered: "...but I am not so sure that Rowling would
"endorse" such a book or story. I think, and this is my prediction,
that she will see the fanfiction and rather than to be able to "pass
that   torch" mentally to the fans, that it will instead inspire her
to "take back control" over her world to continue the story."

Now me again: Your prediction is very possible and well might come to
pass. Here's why I went the other way:

JKR, at least for now, is weary of the pressure of turning out the
series. She'd be slow to come back to it. If she does maintain
control, we'll be waiting much longer for more of Harry's world. 

OTOH, she's always been generous towards fan fiction (not all authors
are) and admits to reading it, which most authors won't for fear of
being accused of stealing ideas. Also, if she were to select, comment
on, and perhaps even edit stories to be published then she still has a
lot of control over Harry's universe. There's long been a custody
battle with the fans over Harry and his friends: obviously the stories
that got official sanction would be the most influential. 

I'm very curious about JKR's future. Somehow I just can't imagine much
more major work from her - I blame the "you can't go back to
Woodstock" effect for that, and everything she ever did again would be
unfairly compared to Harry and found wanting by too many people. I
expect she will devote her life to her family, to philanthropy, and to
being the ultimate Harry Potter resource.

Jim Ferer