Harry Potter and the crazy idea of publishing books kids want to read

Updated May 05, 2017 09:02:29

It's not quite having a Hogwarts acceptance delivered to you by an owl, but it might be the closest you'll get in the Muggle world.

More than 20 years ago, Alice Newton, then eight years old, was handed a photocopied manuscript by her father, Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton.

"She came downstairs an hour later," says Mr Newton, "transported as if in a daze and said, 'Dad this is so much better than anything else. You've gotta publish this.'"

Audio: Listen to the full interview (Books and Arts)

The next day, Mr Newton approved an advance of £1,500 (eventually negotiated up to £2,500) for the as-yet unpublished author of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling.

June 26 will mark 20 years to the day since that book, the first in a multi-billion dollar series, was published. Another six followed, along with a Warner Bros-driven film and merchandise empire which redefined how far modern fantasy could stretch.

Today, years after He Must Not Be Named was vanquished, books, films, theatre shows and theme parks continue to apparate.

A tube full of Smarties

It's now a well-worn tale: 12 reputable English publishers rejected The Philosopher's Stone before it landed at Bloomsbury.

Mr Newton had started the company 10 years before, but had recently enlisted Barry Cunningham to head up the children's division.

"He said, 'Let's publish books that children want to read, not books that their mothers and fathers think they should read,'" says Mr Newton.

"That led us to some extreme places, but it also meant when I introduced Barry to the literary agent [of JK Rowling] who was looking for a publisher for some book — he didn't mention what it was nor that it had been turned down by allegedly 12 other houses — Barry had exactly the right mindset for identifying a book that kids would want to read. Boy, did they want to read it."

Mr Cunningham and the small team at Bloomsbury's children's division were so confident it would win the Smarties Book Prize for children's literature, they sent a photocopy of the manuscript to Mr Newton rolled up in a tube filled with Smarties.

"The classic mistake we didn't make was being put off by its length," says Mr Newton.

"You may think The Philosopher's Stone is pretty thin compared to what followed, but apparently that was the reason some of the other great houses said no.

"'Eight-year-olds? They'll never get through that,' they said."

'A complete loss of all perspective'

As Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way through each school year, the insatiable global demand grew.

It was a steep learning curve for everyone involved.

"We had to become experts at secrecy and logistics," says Mr Newton.

"We were drop-shipping 11 million hardcover units into 82 countries all over the world, in a 24-hour time zone, to prevent any early copies being opened by corrupt border guards."

Newspapers and the burgeoning internet ravenously sought details of the books and their plot twists.

"We were all — but obviously most of all, Jo — in the eye of the storm," says Mr Newton.

"I remember Jo ringing me up once and saying, 'Nigel, please can we make this decision on what the title of the next book will be, because I've got journalists searching my trash cans, looking for bits of paper that might have clues.'

"It seemed like the only thing that mattered in the world. I'm sure we had a complete loss of all perspective as we defended the secrecy of the plots as each book was coming."

What's the magic of Harry?

Mr Newton jokes that he always knew The Philosopher's Stone would sell millions of copies, but he's willing to offer up a few theories to explain the franchise's success.

"There's the sense of humour and the darkness. The notion of the children's world being separate from the adult world — that you enter the world of Hogwarts, leaving the Muggle world behind on Platform 9 3/4.

"One of the most heart-warming aspects of it is the camaraderie of these friends — this tight group of Harry, Ron and Hermione — I think that warms the cockles of many a child's heart.

"Then there's unique gift of Jo's prose; the way she draws you in and holds you so firmly entranced and enthralled and dying to know what happens next."

The staggering success of Harry Potter has brought wealth to Bloomsbury, but it also suggests they know how to back a winner.

Mr Newton, whose favourite Potter book, for the record, is The Prisoner of Azkaban, says his philosophy as a publisher is to pick great books, even though many won't find much of an audience.

"We don't know what will become bestsellers and what won't, but we do know what are good books. Or we convince ourselves we do."

Topics: books-literature, arts-and-entertainment, fantasy-books, melbourne-3000, england

First posted May 04, 2017 16:46:40