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Witness History: The man who first published Harry Potter

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The Man who Published Harry Potter

11/02/2020 GMT

The man who first published Harry Potter

BBC World Service - Witness History, The man who first published Harry Potter

The man who spotted the potential of the boy wizard books in 1996

In 1996 after many rejections struggling author JK Rowling finds a publisher for her first Harry Potter novel. We hear from the man who spotted the boy wizard's potential.

In 1996, after many rejections, author JK Rowling at last finds a publisher for her first Harry Potter novel. Louise Hidalgo hears from editor, Barry Cunningham, who spotted the boy wizard's potential and helped create a phenomenon that would revolutionise childrens' book publishing, selling more than 450 million copies.

Picture: author JK Rowling holds the sixth and penultimate Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Credit: AP)
Audio recording © J.K. Rowling

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