When the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times outed J.K. Rowling as the author of detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year, computer scientists were among the first people called in. Although the novel was published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, two computational scholars––including Duquesne University's Patrick Juola––were tasked with confirming or denying whether the novel belonged to the Harry Potter author, or one of three other possible writers. That Juola succeeded (his conclusions were later confirmed by Rowling herself) speaks volume about the the potential that algorithms and computer science can have, even with application to a field as notoriously subjective as literature. Which raises an interesting question: Can we use software to help us think about literature? Reverse Engineering J.K. Rowling To explore that question, we should first look at how the Juola cracked Rowling's writing style. To begin the process, Juola loaded 1,000–word samples of The Cuckoo's Calling in to his self–designed Java Graphical Authorship Attribution Program (JGAAP), along with several other texts, including The Casual Vacancy, Rowling's first post–Harry Potter novel. A freely available Java–based, modular program for textual analysis, categorization, and authorship attribution, JGAAP analyzed the texts on four different variables: word–length distribution, the use of common words like "the" and "of," recurring–word pairings, and the distribution of "character... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
The BBC’s miniseries adaptation of The Casual Vacancy, a pungent, unhappy novel-for-adults by J.K. Rowling, has an especially formidable bundle of expectations to clear. Like any television retelling of a book, it must do right by its (difficult) source material—then factor in the reflected... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British scientists say their research confirms that emotion-charged passages in 'Harry Potter' books have significant impact on the brains of readers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'You will fail,' says 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling, talking about her new book 'Very Good Lives.' 'That's inevitable. It's what you do with it.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When a fan questioned Rowling's statement that she envisioned 'Harry Potter' character Dumbledore as gay, the author replied that 'gay people just look like ... people.' 'Amazing answer,' the fan replied. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bibliography,' which will be released in the US in April, includes details about alternate titles considered and also tells readers which 'Harry Potter' book Rowling got 'sick' of reading after many edits. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BBC has changed the “bleak” ending of J K Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy for its TV adaptation, due to be screened this month. Screenwriter Sarah Phelps told the Telegraph that she had had to come up with a redemptive ending for the story, set in the fictional village of Pagford. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has launched a competition for schools to win a workshop with Harry Potter jacket illustrator Jonny Duddle as part of Harry Potter Book Night, which will take place on the 5th February. To win the workshop, pupils must design a new "chocolate frog" card. The cards, which feature... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you're the sort of Harry Potter fan who can't help but read the series again and again, Oyster has a treat in store. The all-you-can-read subscription service has teamed up with Pottermore to carry all of the Harry Potter books, including the Hogw... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Artist Jim Kay is doing the artwork for the new version of the first book of the 'Harry Potter' series, which will be released this October. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Scholastic and Bloomsbury are re-releasing the series with full-color illustrations.Between author J.K. Rowling's fan hub experience Pottermore and a slew of fans bringing elements of Harry Potter's world to life (Marauder's Map, a seven-book saga in one), the boy who lived lives on,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Girls are quick to romanticise anti-heroes, says Harry Potter author, as she shares her vision for the future of the boy wizard’s school enemyJK Rowling says that “girls are very apt to romanticise” the antihero, and reveals that she had been forced to pour “cold common sense” on the startling... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The character 'is the only one I feel guilty about,' the author recently wrote in an essay detailing how she plotted her seven-part series and how a story change made this character's death necessary. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Dec. 12 to Dec. 23, Rowling is posting 12 new stories set in the 'Potter' universe on the website Pottermore. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Dec. 12 to Dec. 23, Rowling is posting 12 new stories set in the 'Potter' universe on the website Pottermore. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pottermore is set to post a surprise each day between the 12th and the 23rd December, including new writing from J K Rowling. In a newsletter sent to Harry Potter fans, Pottermore said Rowling will write about Draco Malfoy, a pupil at Hogwarts and one of Harry Potter’s nemeses, as well as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Harry Potter' fans came together at a castle in Poland to act out the world of J.K. Rowling's books. More events are planned for April. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebook readers reveal the most highlighted passages in Harry Potter, the Bible, Lord of the Rings and many more Its an odd sensation to be reading an ebook and to suddenly notice that thanks to the providers data-tracking software youre on a passage that other people have already highlighted. I... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolores Umbridge is a sadistic teacher whom Harry encounters. Rowling posted a piece on the website Pottermore with new information about the character's past and revealed how she was inspired to give the cruel teacher a love of bows and kittens. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling has revealed that Dolores Umbridge, a Hogwarts professor and enemy of Harry Potter, was based on a real person. In any essay posted on the Pottermore website, Rowling said she “disliked intensely on sight” the person she based Umbridge on, who was a teacher “in a certain skill or... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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