Author sued by JK Rowling to sign books yards from Harry Potter's birthplace

Published on Thursday 9 April 2009 10:05

THE author of a new version of the Harry Potter encyclopedia which brought JK Rowling to the verge of tears will sign copies in a bookshop just yards from where the first Potter book was penned.

American author Steve Vander Ark will be in Edinburgh later this month to give a talk and sign copies of The Lexicon at Blackwell Bookshop on South Bridge.

The bookshop is just a few doors away from the former cafe where Ms Rowling wrote most of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 19 years ago.

Despite compiling a book of facts about the Harry Potter series and its creation, Mr Vander Ark, 50, was unaware of just how close he would be to the building, which is now occupied by Chinese restaurant Buffet King.

He told the Evening News: "I know about Nicholson's Cafe but I wasn't sure of the geography. It is exciting and I can't wait to see it – I will have to drop in."

Mr Vander Ark spent six months rewriting the guidebook after a federal judge in New York ruled in Rowling's favour, blocking publication of the original version of the book and awarding Ms Rowling and Warner Bros Entertainment 3850 in statutory damages.

During an emotional trial, Ms Rowling told the court the Harry Potter Lexicon, based on the internet site of the same name, "constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work". But the Edinburgh author said she did not wish to cry as she was British.

Mr Vander Ark insisted his book was a "celebration of the Harry Potter books" and that the revised version had received only positive comments.

He said: "It is very different. The original tried to be exhaustive and give every tiny detail but the new book is more of a quick guide and leads you back to the books. It also includes a lot more commentary and background.

"Ms Rowling said she was not trying to stop me writing a book. I am a huge fan, so I started work on something she would find acceptable."

He said that, following the controversy of the first version, many people were surprised to hear that the book had been published.

He added: "The fans that I have talked to have been thrilled. It is a time to get excited about Harry Potter again. Part of the fun of it is just enjoying discussions of the plot and characters."

Ms Rowling declined to comment but Neil Blair, a lawyer and a partner in Christopher Little, Ms Rowling's literary agent, previously said the new edition of the book was entirely different from the original and had been written in accordance with the judge's guidance.

He said: "The previous book lifted huge chunks of her writing without any quotation marks. If you had picked it up, you would have no idea that these words were written by JK Rowling."

The new version of the book, titled The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials, which includes entries referencing the court hearing, went on sale in January.

Mr Vander Ark has been touring the US promoting the book and will visit Blackwell on South Bridge on April 24 at 6.15pm, with free tickets available from the front desk at the book shop.

He will also visit Borders at Fort Kinnaird on April 25 at 1pm.