I have written and presented lots about psychology within the Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike series, both at fan events and scholarly conferences. However, neither J.K. Rowling or Robert Galbraith ever turned up in the audience to hear my talk. However, in 2018, at the UNLV Summit on Young Adult Literature, I was privileged to give a talk on PTSD in Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and in the works of Laurie Halse Anderson, one of the conference keynote authors. I was both honored and frankly terrified to see Ms. Anderson herself turn up as part of the relatively small audience for my talk, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of my professional life. Ms. Anderson was very gracious and appreciative of what I said, and quite supportive of the work I was doing on YAL and empathy.
Ms. Anderson has just been awarded one of the top prizes in children’s literature, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. I am very excited to see this news and offer my heartiest congratulations. If any Hogpro readers would like to start a discussion of Speak, Wintergirls or The Impossible Knife of Memory, please chime it!
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