SOURCE: “The Truth about Harry,” in School Library Journal, Vol. 45, No. 9, September, 1999, pp. 136–39.

In the following interview, Rowling shares the origins of the “Harry Potter” books, her own background, and her expectations for the series.

Slide over Mr. Clancy, Mr. King, and Ms. Higgins Clark. Make room for J. K. Rowling. In three short years, the 33-year-old British writer has been transformed from a hapless, yet-to-be-published novelist into one of the hottest authors on Earth. Her first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the tale of an orphan who is sent to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, soared onto bestseller lists, and, for good measure, wowed the critics, winning Britain's Smarties Prize, and being named the U.K.'s children's book of the year. Beginner's luck? Not by a long shot.

Harry's two serial siblings—Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter...