Rowling won a special British Book Award yesterday for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone being the most important book of the last thirty years. They are beginning to call her, ‘The Woman Who Will Not Be Cancelled,’ and this honor has to mean a lot in the context of the continued attacks, misrepresentation, and controversy The Presence is enduring at present.
Looking at the short list of possible winners, Philosopher’s Stone is the stand-out best-seller and important British Book of the last three decades. Though Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. believe it or not, is in the same stratosphere of sales, you’ll forgive me for not thinking of it as a ‘British Book,’ despite its being set in part in the UK. No book transformed the idea of reading experience and changed the direction of book publishing and selling than Rowling’s Hogwarts Saga.
But the Nibbies could have taken the safe course and chosen not to acknowledge the obvious rightful winner in order not to be faced with criticism for honoring someone so out of favor today with the Cancel Culture and the Idea of the Moment. Cheers to them and to Rowling for their courage in this. Rowling’s comments, filmed who knows when, seem especially gracious, except perhaps for not mentioning Christopher Little, The Agent Who Dared.
In other news, the project at Wizarding World to have celebrities read Philosopher’s Stone aloud chapter by chapter has stalled. There have been no new chapter readings posted since 10 June and on 24 June the franchise tweeted that they were “taking a break” so everyone can catch up.
On the thread, fans speculate Rowling, Nibbie or no Nibbie, has become so radioactive that even second and third tier actors associated with the film adaptations are refusing to participate in a charitable endeavor with her. Many of them express the hope that The Presence will finish up the project by reading chapters herself.
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