A judge decided that J.K. Rowling would suffer “irreparable harm” if the Harry Potter Lexicon, a labor of love for an unpaid web writer, were to be published. Yes, this is a victory for J.K. Rowling, who at this point will never want for money for the rest of her life, but a serious blow to fans and readers everywhere.
I find it amazing and ludicrous that a fan’s companion work could be any kind of “threat” to an author who has already established herself and admits that she is “done” working on the series to begin with. In her mind, Harry Potter is “finished” and she will no longer be pursuing the storyline. As an established author, with an incredible fan base and readership, J.K. Rowling should have nothing to fear from fan-authored companion works. In fact, she should welcome such publicity and focus on her work; it can only bring more fans and readers to her.
I may have had some respect for the nobody author who wrote her first novel in coffee shops while her son slept in a stroller. But I have lost much of that respect in the last few months as I watched her misplaced lawsuit progress. Yes, she won the legal victory. But what damage did she do to fans and readers, in the long run? I hope it was worth it.
She could take a lesson or two from some other famous authors, like Neil Gaiman, who welcome and encourage fan companion works. He’s not hurting from such activity, that’s for sure.