Rowling Goes Easy on Teen Translator

16-year-old who couldn't wait for the French edition won't be punished

By Heather McPherson, Newser User

Posted Aug 13, 2007 11:24 AM CDT

Copied

Rowling Goes Easy on Teen Translator — Packaged copies of J.K. Rowling's latest book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," come off a conveyer belt inside the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nev., Monday, July 16, 2007. The final Harry Potter installment went on sale July 21, 2007. (AP Photo/David Calvert) (Associated Press)

JK Rowling has agreed not to prosecute a 16-year-old who got the jump on France’s October “Deathly Hallows” release date by posting his own translation online. The young Frenchman said he never attempted to make money from his work, the BBC reported
.

Authorities were impressed by the “near-professional” quality of the boy’s language. Other unauthorized “Hallows” translations are drawing eager foreign eyes, including one in China. Rowling can’t be too worried about her sales, though, as her final Harry Potter tale is the fastest-selling book ever, moving 11 million copies in its first day alone. (More translation stories.)

Report an error