Back in October we asked you, “If you could tell J.K. Rowling something in one sentence, what would it be?” And now we’re proud to tell you that Miss Rowling has received our letter and read your sentences!
We spent a long while compiling your sentences from the comment section of that article as well as coming up with something meaningful and beautiful enough to deserve to be read by J.K. Rowling. Once we were happy with what we wrote we stuck it in an envelope, slapped a Hypable sticker on it, and waited to give it to her.
Any of you who where there that night at Lincoln Center can attest to how quick the interaction with Jo was. We’d practiced and practiced what to say before, during, and after her stage presence because we knew we had a limited time to get something to her out loud.
Sadly, when we arrived at the table the letter was taken from us not by J.K. Rowling but by one of her assistants, and when we approached the Queen all that came out of our mouths sounded like “habbaweewhutaletterhopeyoureadomgthankyou-” before we got the books signed and escorted away. Although we do want to point out she took the time to look us in the eyes and say “Thank you,” in such a heartfelt, warm, and heart-stopping way we were barely holding onto our emotions as we left the table.
As the weeks went on we were curious about whether or not the letter actually made it to Jo’s hands, and we waited nervously not knowing if we’d ever hear back. Today we did, and we wanted to share both our original letter and her response so you can all take a look at what we wrote her.
What we wrote
Dear Jo,
I write for a website called Hypable, where (as fans) we report on the news of several different shows, books movies, etc. When we learned you would be in New York this year we hurriedly got our tickets so we can meet you not just for our sake, but the fans’ as well.We wanted to give the fans that couldn’t come and see you a chance to at least tell you something in their own words, so we asked them all to write something to you in one sentence. We got an overwhelmingly large response, as we knew we would, and had included everyone in this letter.
Article Continues BelowYou’ve changed the lives of millions, and helped the dreams of children and adults alike thrive, grow, and become realities. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for creating what you did, and there are no words to express the love we have for you as a fandom, a community, and a family.
We hope you enjoy reading these sentences and that you never forget that we will be here supporting you until the end of time. Always.
Best,
Tariq Herzallah and Hypable.com
What Jo wrote us
Dear Tariq,
Firstly, let me thank you for your wonderful letter, which I have read even though this is a form response. While promoting the Casual Vacancy over the course of several weeks I was given so many letters that it’s been impossible to write individual replies to everybody. However, I can tell you that I have been completely overhwlmed by the things that people have said and written to me. Thank you so very much for taking the trouble to write. You can have little idea of what that means to an author, whose working life is so solitary and who rarely gets to talk to the people who matter most: her readers.If you’ve read the Casual Vacancy, I really hope you enjoyed it. Very different from Harry and yet the same themes in both – mortality and morality as usual! I’m currently working on another children’s book, for slightly younger children, so I daresay I’ll be on the promotional trail again before too long (but taking a break from discussing sex and swearwords).
Thank you again for being so generous in sharing your thoughts and feelings. That’s the glory of books: a true meeting of friends.
With very best wishes,
J.K. Rowling (signature)
If that’s not enough, here’s a picture!
Click to view the full image
Want to read the compilation we put together? Check out the second page! Beware, there are over 150 comments, so it’s quite lengthy.
We thank you all for contributing to the letter and giving us something to hand to Jo, and we’re glad we were able to help at least some of you get your words to her. For those who didn’t get a chance to contribute, don’t fret. We’re sure that there will be another day where we ask for your sentences, and we hope you’ll be there at the ready!
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