Book V: Harry to Visit Azkaban?

Rowling gave a short interview for Newsround about receiving the W.H. Smith award for Goblet of Fire, and about what we might expect in book five. Thanks to Pär Sörliden for tracking down this interview for us!

Book V: Harry to visit Azkaban?
Story date: 27 April 2001

Harry Potter author J.K Rowling has picked up another prize. This time, it’s the W.H Smith award for Best Children’s Book for The Goblet of Fire.

Newsround interview – 27 April 2001 with Lizo of Newsround, BBC

Lizo: What’s your reaction to winning this award?

JKR: It’s fabulous, I’m deeply honoured that people bothered to turn out
and vote for books in these numbers so it’s wonderful.

Lizo: The Harry Potter books have won lots of awards in the past, obviously,
what does make this one different?

JKR: I think that, I mean it’s from the readers isn’t it? It’s readers
saying what they want to read and I’m just impressed that people took the
time and trouble to vote, it’s wonderful.

Lizo: Was Book 4 the hardest one to write so far?

JKR: Oh yes, definitely, by far, it was a nightmare.

Lizo: Why?

JKR: It was…actually it was completely because of the book …it’s a big
book as everyone knows and the plot was particularly complex, and I got
half-way through the book and realised there was an enormous hole in the plot,
which is never pleasant for a writer. And so it just involved an awful lot of
work. It really was quite a pressured time But it is my favourite book.
In fact the two books that were hardest to write, 2 and 4, are my favourites
of the series so far.

Lizo: And how do you feel about the amazing reaction all over the world to the
two Comic Relief books?

JKR: Oh that’s really fantastic, I don’t think I’ve ever been so…um…it was
pure invention with none of the hardships that are involved in plot and
characterisation and so on. So it wasn’t like writing a novel, it was just
pure frivolity and I enjoyed writing them so much. And it was something
that…I was able to use all this extra information I had that I never thought
I’d be able to cram into a novel because after all you can’t tell the reader
absolutely everything, much as we’d all like to. So it was a way of using that
material which otherwise never would have been published.

Lizo:I mean there’s lots of great bits of information in there…

JKR: Yeah…

Lizo: …I was particularly interested in the bit about the Kneazle, is
Crookshanks possibly… uh, have any Kneazle…?

JKR: Yes, part-Kneazle yes, he is, yes, well-spotted.

Lizo: And is that important…?

JKR: Well, you’ll just have to keep reading, won’t you Lizo?

Lizo: You’re writing book five at the moment, are you enjoying writing the
Order of the Phoenix?

JKR: I’m loving it. I’ve never stopped loving the writing, never, it’s still
my very favourite thing to do. A close second though is meeting children who read
the books which I suppose is a throwback to teaching, I still enjoy contact with
people of that age.

Lizo: Now, we already know there’s going to be a female Defence Against the Dark
Arts teacher in book 5, what other little bits and pieces could you possibly tell
us, just to whet our appetites?

JKR: Um…Harry visits a few places that have been mentioned in the books but
we’ve never got inside before. And I think that’s as far as I’m prepared to go
because people second-guess me so much and then there are rumours all over the
Internet and everything get mad. So, um, yes, he visits places other than Diagon
Alley and Hogwarts. People will be able to guess, I’m sure.