Grrr...it cut off the rest of my comment! lol Add to the above: "If that isn't an awesome description of adult Harry Potter fans, I don't know what is!"

the horror of waking up and think somthing else than harry potter freaks me out barry cunningham thanx a million!!!!!!!!!

The publishers that have been kicking themselves...

JK is in a class of her own when it comes to children stories and I SOOOOOOOOO happy some saw this and gave her a chance. Harry Potter just ROCKS!!! And without it . . . well I wouldn't know what to do.

hear hear for JKR .... go her !!!

i still cant believe that people turned the book down.. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?!

i still cant believe that people turned the book down.. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?!

@Cady Even though JKR started the HP series with dedication, she doesn't need dedication now because she knows that everyone is going to read her books so all she needs to do is write the book and everyone will read it. It'd different now that the books are popular. We all know that book seven will sell enormously, not because it's good but because it's already really popular. I despise the fact that if someone mentions anything almost negative they are demanded to go to Hell and anyone who says something nearly positive, it is blown out of proportion and that person is declared king for praising JKR's work.

Well said! I think HP has become such a success because it teaches a certain idea of how humans should behave, certain values and ideals, but not by telling children (as many teachers and parents do) what they have to do, but by wrapping it in a fascinating, miraculous, funny, strong, story of love and bravery. This way it's not just dry theory it enables Kids to see what the plan is, what exactly stands to be gained, and what kind of life can be lived if one lives up to those ideals. Which is, of course, why HP is not just Kids books. No it's also adult books, because there are many adults, who haven't understood those ideas yet.

@ dphizler Which is exactly why I think that that will not happen. Book 7 will be judged by whether JK lives (writes) up to her Ideals, not her fame.

I take my hat off to this man -- his desicions have changed my life...

I agree with what Cady11 said above. I see tha characters of Harry Potter books all around in life. All the Harry potter books, apart from being exhaliratingly brainy thrillers, are also filled with emotion, drama and lessons hidden beneath the events. They are not as blatant as stories written by classical 18th century authors. Maybe "Harry potter and the philosophers stone" alone is not a gripping title and the book as cady111 said is Jo's weakest work..but if any publisher knew what was coming after that, I am certain nobody would have turned it down....It is only due to Jk's hardwork that we are blessed with the magical world of Harry Potter ( I am 14 years old- in love with the HP series).

It's good to know that at least someone dares to publish an untraditional book. Where would the world have been if no one dared breaking the the 'rules' and give us new ideas? History would have looked quite different. GO JO! She wrote an excellent story. And go Bloombury! Thank you for letting her have a chance, and giving us Harry! Yeah 8)

Dats very nice... ne wayz, glad mugglenet updated its news...

yeah it's really great.. the only problem is that it wasn't him that read it first haven't you heard the true story.. i've heard that it was a secretary who read it after it had been thrown away.. so...

I think it's time I stopped reading this comment section, too much HP/JKR praising for my taste. I like the books but I don't worship them.

Barry Cunningham should be knighted for publishing the Harry Potter books, or even better he should be given a peerage.

Ah, finally some news!!! Cool thing.

And how right wasn't he? Listen to the child within, we are all 5 years old, we just don't know it yet.

An to think, we might not be here (as in MuggleNet) if it wasn't for the decision of that man. Very eloquently said, reminds me of the good old days when HP was so young...

i bet all other publishers are hating themselves for not signing JK immediately. Well, glad she got signed and congrats to Bloomsbury!

Harry Potter is not just a children's book.

dphizler - Of course we talk about how much we love it! I wouldn't bother talking about/spending so much of my free time on it at all if I didn't think it was awesome. It's not flawless, but I don't see the fun in going round in circles going, "Yes, it's fun, I guess, but look at this glaring mistake OMG!" I don't spend my free time doing things I don't enjoy. Sorry.

i bet all the publishers who turned it down feel pretty stupid right now.....

You can tell that he REALLY understands the books-- you can tell that he's not just saying this to make people happy (even though I'm happy)!

That was beautifully said! Harry Potter isn't JUST a children's book, and Barry Cunningham knew that from the start. What would've happened if he'd turned Jo down as well?

To claim that HP & SS/PS is Jo's weakest work is ridiculous because you are obviously ignoring some things when you make this statement. It was her first in the series and the shortest out of all of them. Writers get better with time, it's a craft that requires it. Also, considering that the other books are larger in length gives them a better chance of being greater. The larger the content, the more things you can choose from it [that you like]. That's one of the things that creates favorite books. Now that doesn't mean that I'm saying that because Order of the Phoenix is largest it's everybody's favorite and Jo's best work. P.S.-I think I did hear about her having written some other things before HP under a different penname.

All I know is that until 5th grade (when my friend introduced me to the series), I didn't really enjoy reading. I was an 'okay' student. So I read the book even though I thought it was huge. SS made me want more so I read CoS and so on. Now I'm an obsessed fan that loves to read not just HP but everything I can get my hands on. Now I understand that HP is not the only fantasy children's book out there. I read Roald Dahl after I finished the HP series (in 5th grade, which means 1-4). I can bet you money that I wouldn't have read his books if it weren't for HP. HP was my starter book. But what you got to remember is that HP's magic just doesn't stop when you finish the book, it goes on (at least in me) forever.

The whole tone of everyone commenting bothers me. JK Rowling is NOT in a class of her own. She is very, very, very good. Only idiots would come to this site and not think that. But there are other books out there that are just as good. Some might prefer Harry Potter. I do. I love Harry Potter and have read them about ten trillion times. But other books are good and stretch boundaries as well.

It's called opinion, Arabella dear. You might think that there are books out there that are just as good as Harry Potter. But what if some people feel that Harry Potter is the best of them all? Are you going to feel bothered if they have their own opinion and all they're doing here is to praise its author? That they feel that JKR is in a class of her own (which I don't think was meant literally, btw)?

I think it is important for me to post a comment here espesscially because Harry Potter has changed my life just as it has for many people here. I used to be a poor student and never liked to read. My mom came home one day with the HP books and i would never read them...because i hated to read. She would buy me HP prouducts to encourage me but i just wouldn't read them. So one day my best friend was reading the books and she said that they were really good so I decided to give it a try. As soon as I started reading the books I couldn't put them down and I became obsessed. Now I can't even watch the Narnia Movie or look at a license plate without relating it to Harry Potter. And now my mom is so sick of hearing about Harry Potter, But I know she will never regret the day she bought the books home because I became a better student and a better reader. I just want to say thanks to all the people that made HP possible and of course thanks to mugglenet and JKR of course!

Yeah ok it's not a "traditional children's book" then it wouldn't have sold so many copies. It's much more than a children's book. But that would be so cool to discover JK rowling! Like a best-selling author!

Usually opinions are backed up with something. So back it up, please.

thank-you soooo sooooo much for discovering harry potter it is the best book in like the whole world!but i think that most people love the books because they are so original.Jo you rock thank-you so much for not writing a normal book!we love you:)