Potter fan wins 'JK' interview
2005-07-11 08:44
London - A teenage fan of Harry Potter said on Monday he will conduct the only interview with the wizard's creator, Joanne "JK" Rowling, hours after her latest book in the best-selling series is released on Saturday.
Owen Jones from Cardiff, beat off thousands of other fans to win the exclusive audience with the multi-millionaire author, who is just days away from unveiling her sixth instalment of Potter's life - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at a midnight ceremony in Edinburgh Castle.
The 14-year-old sent a list of questions he would like to ask Rowling to a panel of judges and was shortlisted to participate in a quiz with his mother.
"I told the judges I would like to ask her if Harry Potter's life was a kind of childhood fantasy for her, and of course, what's going to happen in the next book," Jones said.
"Then I had to face the quiz. I was swotting like mad for that," he said.
"The moment I came through the door from school mum was firing Harry Potter questions at me."
The quiz
The quiz will be broadcast at 17:15 on British channel ITV1's Harry Potter at the Castle: The Quest for the Ultimate Harry Potter Fan.
The young winner's mother, Allison, 38, said she also had to brush up on Harry Potter facts since her son entered the competition last May.
"I've always liked the books but I had to work a bit harder than just reading them in recent weeks," Allison Jones said.
"There were quiz books to do, jotting notes and memorising facts," she said.
"If I got a question wrong on the day Owen might not have won.
"I am very proud and pleased as punch. Owen is a fantastic reader. If anyone deserves to be the ultimate Harry Potter fan it's him."
The interview will be screened on ITV on Sunday during a special show to mark the launch of the book.