It has been ten years since JK Rowling first looked out the window of the stalled train she was riding at a few cows and a boy named Harry Potter strolled into her head. Since then, not only has the literary world been changed, not only have thousands - millions, even - of fans' lives been changed, but JK Rowling has changed.
Not only is it evident in the pictures above, but you can see (and hear - she starts giving way less information) this change in the many videos we have of Jo in the video gallery. Here is one where Jo spoke very candidly about Dudley, snakes, and more - letting slip many details that she almost certainly would never have said in an interview like this one that she recently did with Richard and Judy, in which she let slip one tiny detail that we, being fans, pounced on (she'd given one character a reprieve and killed two she didn't intend on killing). Throughout the years, Jo has given interviews on topics ranging from bullying and childhood, snake lore, shipping, and even made a brief appearance on The Simpsons.

Take a stroll down memory lane - and maybe even learn a few new canon tidbits in the process.

Isn't it fun to watch her (in a non freaky way )

I think that she is certainly less confident in the early videos. All this fame was so new to her. She's a true professional now! You're certainly right elizabeth18, in saying that she gives away way less information now. She didn't realize what her book would become in the early days. Now, she has to be very cautious, evident from the Richard and Judy interviews and the night with Harry Carrie and Garp.

I love that Simpsons video. I so would want to hear that from J.K Rowling

Those videos were nostalgic ....Yeah.. I liked that simpsons video...It's really hard to realise that there will be no more HP books after Deathly Hallows....

Vandy, it might be the end of the HP books but there will always be more!
I can't wait until DH comes out and Jo will be able to tell us so much more about the books.
And I'm hoping for that encyclopedia

Oh Jo. She's truly a fabulous person. You just can't help but love her. She's smart, witty, funny, compassionate and a geniune person.

shes very ispirational and a awesome author

Probably one of the best biographical videos done on JK Rowling and the Harry Potter phenomenon was aired on the BBC and A&E in the states in January of 2002. The amazing TLC Video Galleries is proud to present this wonderful documentary for viewing and to download!

Part 1 -- Jo talks about how the idea materialized, visits King's Cross Station, and shows her plans and notebooks that she compiled while bringing Harry to life.

Part 2 -- In this section Jo discusses her perserverance through countless rejection letters, and shows some of the sketches she made while developing her characters.

Part 3 -- Here Rowling reiterates that she doesn't believe in "witchcraft" and that her magic spells and such are completely from her imagination. She admits that she most identifies with Hermione, and visits her childhood home.

Part 4 -- In part 4 Jo discusses her relationship with her mother, who died of Multiple Sclerosis before she completed the first Potter book. She explains how that experience affected the fate of Harry and his parents.

Part 5 -- The final section of this fascinating video finds Rowling discussing how she copes with fame, drawing a parallel between her noteriety and Harry's. She teases the audience with a glance at the final chapter of the final book (this while still writing OotP.)

Personally I have been DYING to get my hands on a copy of this incredible video! It is a veritable treasure-trove of insight into what makes Jo Rowling and Harry "tick."

As mentioned on TLC Main there is a new ITV documentary on Jo Rowling which is set to air in the UK on December 30th. We have some previews and a trailer for the documentary now in the unparalleled TLC Video Galleries!



This clip shows Jo as she finishes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--in which she reveals that she is "really really happy" with the final book of the series, although some fans may "loathe it."

Here is the 30-second official trailer for the documentary.

This second clip (another preview for the documentary) follows Jo as she visits the flat in Leith, a suburb of Edinburgh, where she first put pen to paper to write the story that started it all, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Tearfully she reflects on what life would be like now if inspiration had not struck her on that fateful train-ride back in 1990.

Thanks for those new updates, Hagiographer. Oh, that last clip was truly heartbreaking. Wow, it must have been odd to go back there for Jo. I'm so excited to watch this documentary!

I finally got to watch the ITV documentary "Jo Rowling: A Year in the Life" and that prompted me to revisit the "Harry Potter and Me" documentary, from 2002. One thing that really struck me, and this video was made before OotP came out (like 19 months before), is that she had planned the epilogue already! Many fans after DH came out remarked they thought it seemed "tacked-on", but, according to Jo it was already in the works.

That particular nugget is in part 5:

http://video.the-leaky-cauldron.org/video/862

Wow!

I loved the A year in the life of thing about J.K. Rowling. My mum actuallycried in part of it when we were watching it, in the part where she's talking about her mother, an never telling her about Harry. It was an absolutley superb dccumentary and these videos got me all excited for it! xxx

As mentioned on TLC Main Jo Rowling delivered the commencement address to the 2008 graduating class of Harvard today, June 5th.




We now have this stirring, eloquent and heart-felt speech available in the TLC Video Gallery to watch and download --

I know for myself I can't remember who my commencement speaker was, but I wasn't lucky enough to have someone as well-spoken as JKR.

I can not wait to watch this! I've heard such wonderful things about this speech, and am so glad that we have it available to watch!

JKR is such a wonderful eloquent speaker. It's great to see she was given this opportunity!

Wow, I truly loved that speech!! She's just.. brilliant! she was rather nervous, (who woudn't be?) but did of course very good! I can only hope she will be at my graduation too, but that chance is rather small

I really loved Jo's speech at Harvard. As a soon-to-be graduate (from High School), I thought it was perfect for a commencement address... it mixed advice, personal experience, humor, everything. And, as always, I just loved seeing Jo on camera-- reading her interviews is never the same as seeing or hearing her speak.

I almost died listening to Jo's speech. It was amazing in so many ways. Humor, real life advice, and just the inspiring stories made it the opposite of her commencement speaker's speech, because there's no way anyone there will forget that speech any time soon. Jo rules!

Finally got a chance to watch -- and download. This is probably the best speech of its kind I have ever heard or read. Jo strikes just the perfect amount of passion, practicality and humour. I had completely forgotten that she had worked for Amnesty International right out of university, and it is so obvious how her experiences there informed the Potter series. And, more importantly, the empathy that she showed during her tenure at AI has carried forward into her immense amount of charity work and her compassion for humanity.

In a world where heroes are few and compassion is thin, I have found my hero, and a renewed respect for Jo Rowling. You cannot fail to be moved to tears and hope by this amazing speech.