About this episode

Solomon Schmidt discusses the challenges of writing J.K. Rowling's biography and shares insights on potential interview questions for her.

(Credit: Telegraph article, June 2017 , J.K. Rowling at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation party in 2007, wearing a floral diamond necklace and matching earrings , cf., Christmas Pig ) Solomon Schmidt, author of A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J. K. Rowling ( Skyhorse, June 2026), sat down with us again to discuss what challenges he faced in collating and synthesizing almost thirty years of interviews for his biography. He also shares the three questions he’d ask The Presence if she’d consent to an interview, questions that he thinks she might answer; Solomon turned the tables on his interviewers who had to improv questions they’d ask without being told their interview with Rowling was over. The necessary links to the book’s Amazon page and to the two Hogwarts Professor reviews are here: * A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J.K. Rowling (Amazon.com) * A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J.K. Rowling (Amazon.co.uk) Uk Edition * A Pen to Change the World – the Biography of J. K. Rowling by Solomon Schmidt (Nick Jeffery) * Book Review: A Pen to Change the World - The Life of J. K. Rowling (John Granger) Five Questions for Solomon Schmidt, Author of A Pen to Change the…

People in this episode

Host: John Granger

Guest: Solomon Schmidt

Topics covered

• biography
• J.K. Rowling
• interviews
• literature
• writing process

Keywords

• J.K. Rowling
• biography
• Solomon Schmidt
• interviews
• writing challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Raisa Gorbachev Foundation

Books & works: A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J. K. Rowling, Christmas Pig

More episodes of Rowling Studies The Hogwarts Professor Podcast

• A Pen to Change the World: Conversation with Solomon Schmidt, Rowling-Galbraith Biographer (Part One) · July 9, 2026 · 1h 48m
• The Mysterious Suicides of Leda Strike and Charlotte Campbell Revisited Post Hallmarked Man · June 19, 2026 · 1h 1m

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