Black magic ruled Rowling out of White House award

Published on Tuesday 29 September 2009 22:23

AUTHOR JK Rowling was denied the United States' highest civilian honour because members of the Bush administration believed Harry Potter "encouraged witchcraft".

A new book by a former speech writer for George W Bush claims White House officials objected to Ms Rowling's perceived promotion of sorcery in the series.

As a result, author Matt Latimer claims, her name was not included amongst those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The award acknowledges contributions to US national interest, world peace or cultural endeavours.

But according to Latimer's book Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor, plans for Ms Rowling to receive the Medal of Freedom were nipped in the bud by officials in the previous administration.

He claims that the White House politicised the honour under the Bush regime.

Latimer writes that "narrow thinking" led "people in the White House to actually object to giving Ms Rowling a presidential medal.

However, Bush's administration's antipathy towards Rowling was very publicly contradicted by wife.

Former first lady Laura Bush was vocal about her love for the Harry Potter books.

During an interview with Good Morning America in 2003, she said of them: "It was like finding a great mystery writer and having that whole body of work to read at once. I really loved them."

Mrs Bush even went as far as to use them as part of the White House Christmas decorations that year.

Melissa Anelli, the creator of the hugely popular US Potter fansite, The Leaky Cauldron, said if the story was true, the decision may have been made to avoid upsetting right-wing Christians.

"It sounds unlikely-to-unbelievable and if true was probably because the Christian right would object, not because people in the White House actually believed the books promoted witchcraft," she said.

"If it were true I can only say I'm happy the chances of that happening today are virtually nil."

In one of his last acts as head of state, Mr Bush presented the medal to former prime minister Tony Blair.

President Barack Obama recently bestowed the honour on physicist Stephen Hawking, among others.

Ms Anelli added that she hoped that if the Obama administration felt Ms Rowling deserved the award then it would go present her with it.

"The new president clearly thinks very highly of JK Rowling, having mentioned her several times, even paraphrasing a line of her books in one of his recent e-mails – that kind of regard and respect can't be quantified in any medal.

"That's much more important to fans, I think, and probably also to Jo, than having yet another award to her name."