Harry Potter's story turns 20

Harry Potter's story turns 20

Harry Potter
Harry Potter

Save the date

› What: Get Pop-Cultured: Chattoine Cosplay Celebration. Celebrate fandom with events including a how-to workshop for novice cosplayers, a cosplay parade and a costume showcase. Come dressed as your favorite character.› When: 6 p.m. Saturday, July 29.› Where: Barnes & Noble Hamilton Place, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd.

Every year, the staff at the Chattanooga Public Library compiles a list of well-worn books that need to be replaced. And every year, they know a familiar name will appear again.

Harry Potter.

"We replace Harry Potter books every year, more than any other books," says acquisitions librarian Cathy Royal. "They're in such constant rotation."

Monday marks the 20th publication anniversary of the beloved series' first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (the American publisher changed the title to "Sorcerer's Stone"). Two decades in, locals say the story's draw is as strong as ever, with new readers discovering the wizarding world and longtime fans returning to the series again and again.

"They are as magical now as they were 20 years ago," says Star Lowe, owner of Starline Books in downtown Chattanooga. She and other area booksellers say sales of Harry Potter books and merchandise remain consistently high, with interest spanning demographics.

Chattanooga's library system currently owns 17 copies of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" alone. Earlier this week all but two copies were checked out, says Royal. Demand for the audiobooks, ebooks and DVDs is constant, with daily requests for transfers or holds.

"I would definitely call them classics at this point," says Royal.

The series and the vast franchise it spawned have become so ubiquitous it can be easy to forget the humble origin story of Harry, the bespectacled 11-year-old boy who discovers he is not only a wizard but a hero in the wizarding world, known as "the boy who lived."

Author J.K. Rowling received numerous rejections when trying to find a publisher for "Philosopher's Stone," and when it was finally published in 1997, the initial print run called for just 500 copies. Since then, the seven books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide and been published in 79 languages, making it the world's best-selling series.

Lowe encountered the books soon after their British release, when a friend brought a copy of the first book home from Ireland. She fell in love with the series and read it to her class as a fourth-grade teacher. She now delights in watching readers discover the series for the first time and connecting with fans every time a Harry Potter-related movie or spinoff text is released.

"We're always looking for an excuse for another Potter Party," she says. "And you're never late to the Potter Party. You're never too old. "

To fans and those working in the literary world, the steady level of interest proves that the series always had more staying power than a pop-culture fad.

"People in their 20s and 30s who grew up with the books are now introducing their kids to Harry Potter," says Kelly Flemings, the community business development manager at Barnes & Noble Hamilton Place. "We're seeing a whole new generation becoming introduced to these books."

Samantha Brown, a 32-year-old special-education aide from Summerville, Ga., first started reading the books when she was 14. She grew up with Harry as the books were released and has since read the series so many times she's had to replace at least one tattered copy of her favorite, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." She insisted her husband read the books before they got married.

She started reading the books to her two daughters when they were young, and this year, she watched with delight as her 10-year-old daughter devoured the books on her own.

"I can't even explain how wonderful it was," says Brown. "As she was reading them, she would want to talk through what she thought was going on, ask me questions. It's just such a great story, no matter how old you are."

She and her daughters love to cosplay as characters from the series and attend themed events like the Hogwarts Masquerade and Magical Holiday Ball parties held last year at Barnes & Noble.

Flemings says the gatherings have been so popular they will become annual events.

"The books have inspired so many children," he says. "Children who may not be a typical book lovers will just devour these books."

Children also have introduced their parents to the series, opening up a world of young-adult fiction to adults, says Travis Silver, book lead at Books-A-Million in Hixson.

"I had a gentleman in here yesterday who said he had never read the series, but now that he had kids, he was absolutely fascinated with them," Silver says.

The books are fixtures on elementary school reading lists, but they have also found their way to college-level syllabi.

Last year, Cleveland State Community College English professor Dr. Victoria Bryan taught a modern British literature course that included the entire series.

"The books open up so many important conversations about the role of literature and how we label 'serious' literature and 'pop' literature," she says.

Going into the class, Bryan knew many of the students had read the series. But she asked them to approach the books with a critical eye, digging into perennial literary themes and framing them within a modern cultural context.

Class discussions about the series ranged from how the books align with World War II and Holocaust narratives; how they touch on issues of mass incarceration; even how they speak to the current concern over fake news.

"This starts as a children's book, but by the end they are not children's books anymore," says Bryan. "The things you read when you're young shape how you see the world, and this series has shaped how many young people think about their culture, about good and evil."

The course culminated in a Harry Potter-themed study-abroad trip in Great Britain, where 30 students and faculty members visited sites where Rowling received inspiration, and filming locations for the eight Harry Potter blockbusters, including Warner Brothers' studios in London.

The trip was such a hit it will likely become a regular offering, says Bryan.

Even if someone can't travel to the castles and landscapes featured in the series - or even to the Universal Studios Florida theme park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, which opened in 2014 - Lowe says the books are transporting enough on their own.

"You can just fall into the world. It's a joy to sit down and get lost in the story," she says. "At its core, it's just a beautiful story. It's timeless. "

Kate Harrison Belz can be reached at katejhbelz@gmail.com or on Twitter at @katebelz.

Harry Potter timeline

1990 - J.K. Rowling conceives of Harry Potter while on a train ride between Manchester and London1997 - “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” novel (U.K.)1998 - “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” novel (U.S.) and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” novel (U.K.)1999 - “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” novel (U.S.) and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” novel (U.K./U.S.)2000 - “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” novel (U.K./U.S.)2001 - “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” movie/“Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” novel and “Quidditch Through the Ages” novella (U.K./U.S.)2002 - “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” movie2003 - “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” novel (U.K./U.S.)2004 - “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” movie2005 - “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” movie/“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” novel (U.K./U.S.)2007 - “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” movie/“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” novel (U.K./U.S.)2008 - “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” novel (U.K./U.S.)2009 - “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” movie2010 - “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” movie2011“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” movie2016 - “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” play and script (U.K./U.S.)/“Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” movie

By the numbers

› $910 million Estimated net worth of J.K. Rowling (circa 2013).

› $3,570

Advance paid to Rowling in 1996 by publisher Bloomsbury for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” adjusted for inflation.

› $15 billion

Estimated value of the Harry Potter brand.

› $7.72 billion

Amount grossed in worldwide theatrical ticket sales for the eight “Harry Potter” films.

› 11 million

Copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” that sold in the 24 hours after its release.

› 450 millionNumber of “Harry Potter” novels sold worldwide.

› 78

Number of languages “Harry Potter” novels have been translated into, including Latin.

Sources: Bloomsbury, New York Times, IMDB, Box Office Mojo, Time

Upcoming Events