Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: End of an Era

The seventh and final book title in the Harry Potter series was released on Thursday December 21, 2006. While there is currently no affirmative release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the publishers of the series hope to release it in 2007.

J. K. Rowling has been working on the Harry Potter series for 16 years. She shared that Harry, the main character in the series, just came into her head one day when she was traveling by train in 1990. Amazingly, several publishers turned down a completed manuscript before one showed interest in her ideas. Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone, was published in the United States in 1998. Readers young and old immediately took interest in the fantasy and magic of the Wizzarding World Rowling portrays in the series.

J. K. Rowling is a unique author in that she matures the characters in her series with each progressive book. Each Harry Potter book focuses on one year of school at Hogwarts and the challenges faced by the main characters during that year. Rowling also makes the connection between the wizzarding and non-magic "Muggle" world.

Not surprisingly, J. K. Rowling has been the recipient of several awards including the Bram Stocker Award, Hugo Award, Smarties Prize, and Whitbread Award for Best Children's Book.

When asked whether book seven will be the final book in the Harry Potter series, Rowling shares she does not plan to continue the series after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, she tells interviewers while she does not plan to continue the series at this time, she may consider it in the future. Rowling also declares she may consider publishing a wizard dictionary, revealing definitions and meanings of different terms she uses in the series. If she publishes this encyclopedia, she will donate the proceeds to charity. Rowling has already published two other books for charity: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quiddich Through the Ages. The proceeds from these books are meant to aid in the reduction of poverty and social injustice in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The Harry Potter series has touched millions of people's hearts, young and old, including mine. The release of J. K. Rowling's final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows brings forth an array of mixed feelings. The excitement of finding out Harry's fate and the sadness that this is the last of Rowling's adventures lies in the hearts of many as they await the final book of the series to be released.