Video: Meet Harry’s First Publisher

We all know where Harry’s story starts, on that train from Manchester to London, and how J.K. Rowling found herself an agent after numerous attempts, before David Heyman picked up the book for film production. But how much do you know about the man who decided to publish the first book?

Cast your minds back to a time before Harry Potter…

Barry Cunningham was the publisher who was working at Bloomsbury UK when the book came in. Barry, together with his daughter, fell in love with the book. In a new video released by BBC, Barry talks about his discovery of the book and his decision to publish it – as well as his favorite aspect of the book. Check out the rather nostalgic video below:

A longer, audio-only version of the interview is available here.

Barry now runs his own UK publishing company, the Chicken House, which publishes a wide range of middle-grade dult fiction.

Does this video take you back to those early Harry Potter moments? Let us know your thoughts!