Latest in J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling and The Handmaid’s Tale scribe Margaret Atwood are among 150 writers, academics and activists to sign an open letter published by Harper’s bemoaning the “restriction of debate” in modern culture. Rowling, who has been at the center of a rancorous online debate about transgender rights in recent weeks, put…

Two big Harry Potter fan sites, unhappy over author J.K. Rowling’s views on transgender people, said today they will no longer provide links to her personal website, use photos of her, or write about her outside of her role in creating the fantasy world they love. The sites, Leaky Caldron and Mugglenet, said in a…

Harry Potter franchise co-star Rupert Grint has joined his castmates Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in defending trans rights after comments made last weekend by J.K. Rowling. Grint, who played Ron Weasley in Warner Bros’ Harry Potter series of films, released a statement Friday in the UK, saying: “I firmly stand…

Harry Potter star Emma Watson has become the latest figure to weigh in on the controversy provoked by the book series author J.K. Rowling's series of tweets about trans people. "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren't who they say…

Warner Bros. has finally weighed in regarding Wizarding World architect J.K. Rowling’s recent remarks on the trans community, which have sparked controversy since she tweeted Saturday. Here is Warners’ full statement: The events in the last several weeks have firmed our resolve as a company to confront difficult…

In a 3,600-word long essay posted to her website this morning, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling sought to clarify and expound upon the statements she made about the trans community on Saturday over Twitter, which caused an uproar in recent days drawing rebukes from GLAAD and Wizarding World actors Daniel Radcliffe and…

UPDATED with Scholastic/Warner Bros. responses: In a statement Thursday, Scholastic said that “J.K. Rowling is one of the world's most accomplished authors and is known in her writing and philanthropy as a champion of oppressed and vulnerable people. We support her right to express her personal views and beliefs. We…

Eddie Redmayne, the star of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff franchise Fantastic Beasts, has spoken out against the Wizarding World architect after anti-trans comments she made on Twitter over the weekend. “Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to…

Two days after Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling drew condemnation for an op-ed that GLAAD contended “willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans,” Harry Potter himself responded. Actor Daniel Radcliffe said that, while Rowling has had a major impact on his life, he felt compelled to say…

J.K. Rowling has announced plans to serialize her new book, The Ickabog, for free on the internet through July. In a blog post and corresponding Twitter thread on Tuesday, she emphasized the book is a stand-alone fairy tale, unrelated to the Harry Potter series. Rowling also said she will donate royalties from the…

Daniel Radcliffe is picking up his wand again and returning to the world that catapulted him to stardom by reading the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as part of a Wizarding World lockdown initiative. Radcliffe has been joined by a cast of narrators, including Fantastic Beasts star Eddie…

Editor's Note: Don Winslow has spent the week writing a series of columns on his adventures in Hollywood for Deadline, even as he navigated the launch of his new William Morrow novella collection Broken with a virtual book tour. The response to these columns — some of the best writing we’ve seen on Deadline — has been …