Both were mothers who, around the time of their thirtieth birthday, first imagined a fantasy franchise that would bring them fame, fortune, and a loyal fanbase. This winter, both will provide Hollywood with an eagerly-anticipated blockbuster.
So, when I was interviewing “Twilight” novelist Stephenie Meyer this week for the story that just went live over on MTV.com, I had to ask: Has she ever met J.K. Rowling?
“No,” the affable author revealed. “But I would love to; I would love to sit down and talk with her.”
Once Meyer’s first non-”Twilight” book, entitled “The Host,” arrives in bookstores May 6th the comparisons might dwindle a bit. But while both continue to rule the world of teen-lit, she understands that they’ll always be compared to one another.
“I can see that,” she explained. “The interesting thing about the comparison is that I think you can compare my fans to her fans more easily [than me to her]. I do think that we both have people who are just really really enthusiastic, and will come miles to see you and be involved, and everybody really cares about our characters. But the ['Harry Potter' and 'Twilight'] stories are just so different.”
“J.K. Rowling’s audience is everybody, so that means we all have a piece of her audience,” Meyer laughed. “It’s terribly flattering to be compared to her, but there’s never going to be another J.K. Rowling; that’s a phenomenon that’s not gonna happen again.”
Still, Meyer insisted that if she ever did meet the “Potter” mastermind, they’d have plenty to talk about. “I’d like to hear her thoughts on her fans; I know she has this big group of people who say ‘Oh no, Harry should have ended up with another girl,’ and I wonder how she feels about that when they think they have a better ending than she does,” the writer said sympathetically. “I’d also like to hear her thoughts on the movies, and what things about them she enjoyed, and how she feels about privacy and e-mails and fan letters and that whole experience as a popular writer.”
“We have a few things in common,” she laughed. “It would be fun to share that common ground.”
Stephenie Meyer or J.K. Rowling: Whose writing style do you prefer?
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
If you had asked me, oh say, four years ago if I thought any writer could surpass J. K. Rowling, my answer would have been a flat out no. But, alas, that was four years ago. I don’t pretend to be some great book expert, but I am a lover of all things fantasy literature. The Harry Potter series made up a big part of my childhood, actually stirring my interest in the mythological department. Yet, her writing seems to be directed more towards younger people; I’d say the prime ages for the Harry Potter series is 10-15.
Twilight, however, appeals to ages 12-30, a book with a little something for everybody. I found the books in my freshman year and was very pleased. For chapter one, I was hooked. S. Meyer just has this way of writing that captures you completely, warping time and reality to the point that you ARE in Bella’s bedroom the first night Edward stays there. You ARE hearing Edward play Bella’s lullaby. You ARE in the ballet studio, watching James saunter forward menacingly.
In some aspects, I don’t think the two book series can be compared. Maybe it’s just that they are aimed at different age levels or that they have their one aura to them. But for comparing the author’s themselves, S. Meyer comes out as top dog. Her careful attention to detail, history, and human nature [and vampire nature for that matter] are the deciding factors that make her books come alive. Two big thumbs up for Mrs. Meyer!
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Stephenie Meyer by far!
I love J.K. Rowling,and harry potter is reallly good. But, the Twilight Series is the best books i have every read.
(:
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I think that they are both really good writers, so i can’t choose which one is better!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
omg!!!! that is SO easy! stephenie meyers!!!! i mean HAVE you read her books????? no offence i mean they both are great but who can potray these characters better than stephenie??? she over examines every little detail!! she puts herself into each character to figure out what they would say! i cant wait for the movie to come out and i cant wait for the next book to come out! also i am TOTALLY excited for the host and edward’s point of view!! (omg!! the phone call from rosalie’s point of view is AMAZING!!! maybe stephenie should write the books from her point of view/ it would be SO cool!!!!!!)
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I am truly excited about this movie. I’d love to talk to other people that are as into the twilight books as me. Is there a good website for this?
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Stephenie Meyer all the frekin way!!!!! XD
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 am
I prefer Stephenie’s writing much much better. I love the HP books but I enjoyed reading all the Twilight books better.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 am
i am with stephenie meyer all the way. although harry potter is good it is nothing compared to twilight it could never compare :] i love twilight
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:50 am
Stephenie Meyers…Her books are much more personal, and I feel like I can get into them more. The characters seem a little better developed and have faults. So do JK’s, but Stephenie seems to have a pretty good idea of what’s going on in her head when she writes the book.
~Amanda
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
This seems like such a dilema! How can you pick one over the other– i mean, i have loved and grown up with Harry, but now that I have discovered the Twilight Series, I absolutely can’t put them down! Personally, I think that I love Edward more as a character, but as for authors they are both amazing. Like someone else said, though, Rowling really had to work her way up to the wonderful writing of her last books, the first ones really weren’t that well written even though they had a great story. Meyer had a much better writing style from the beginning, and her talent has only grown. I absolutely cannot wait until BD is out!!! Thanks to both for producing such amazing work!
PS– I am madly in love with Edward Cullen… if only he were real!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I love SM. Harry Potter books are good, but i could never get into them i like i could with meyers books. GO SM!
April 24th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I think that Harry Potter and Twilight are too different to be compared. Harry Potter is tottally out there, a whole world with it’s own food and stores and celebrities and stuff, but Twilight is happening in just a normal setting, literally under peoples noses, yet it’s so real that you can seriously believe that it could happen to you. There both good, though.
Really hard to chose.
April 25th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
just got to say that when i was reading twilight and the carry ons from that book i was intwind with stephenies words she made me fall in love with edword she has thought up one great story and made it into nearly every teenage girls fantacy well i no it was mine while i was reading it.i dont think you can say one author is better than another because both writters infact all writters have thier own style and imagenation and all books capture readers for differnt reasons so i cant choose but i do love twilight and it will always be in my top 10 book catorgory lol xxxxxxx
April 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I prefer JK. I mean Twilight is such a great story and everything, but HP is way much better! Stephenie is talented, but I think she can’t compare to JK, not yet, anyway.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
JK!!!!!! She is soooooo much better then SM. Who could even think that. JK will and always be the best. NO one will ever change that. HOw dare anyone say that!
May 1st, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Stephenie Meyer is so much more of a better writer; I tried to read the Harry Potter books, but they could NOT keep me entertained for the life of me. They were too… just blek, in my opinion any way….
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I’ve always seen the caracters Remus and Tonks, and Edward and Bella, remarkably similar.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
JK Rowling is a far better than Stephenie Meyer. Eventhough they are both great authors, Twilight is only aimed at pre-teen and teen girls, while Harry Potter is for everyone. Like Meyer said Rowling created a phenomenon that can never be recreated. She made an entire generation of kids hooked on a book. Meyer might be the NEXT JK Rowling but she can never be better than Rowling.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I think Stephanie meyer is too good i love twilight it’s perfect even though i like harry potter i love twilight, new moon and eclipse much love. Twilight ROX!!!!
May 5th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I love both the HP and Twilight series but I think that overall HP is my favorite series, whereas Twilight is my favorite book. I am not as a big fan of New Moon and Eclipse (although I like them). As for authors, I believe that SM will become more and more popular, but I’m not sure if she’ll ever become another JK Rowling.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Personally, I believe JK is the superior author. I do not understand why many would say the SM is, though she did write a fine book. Reading both series, (though I have only read Twilight and not the other 2 or 3) her style of writing is typical teenager fantasy novel. It isn’t really special when one thinks about it. There are other books that are pretty much the same as Twilight. I am not going to totally praise JK but in this generation, she helped jumpstart fantasy fiction as a big thing again.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I think that JK Rowling is a better writer and I prefer HP to Twilight (love both though :D).
May 8th, 2008 at 3:34 am
What is the point in comparing these two authors exactly?! They’re not even in the same genre. Twilight is a teen romance series. Harry Potter is completely universal, everyone reads it no matter what age or sex they are. And neither of them are anything alike in their writing styles, JKR has alot more experience than Stephenie and you can definitely tell. If Twilight wasn’t such a good story, I would pull my hair out from all grammar errors and weird, confusing sentence structures. i just don’t see how these two authors can be compared when they’re stories are soooo different. it confuses me. but I love JKR! she’s the best. Stephenie Meyer is a good writer too though, but no one can touch JKR’s imagination.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
STEPHENIE MEYER of course…i am in luv with theses books(well edward mostly but) i dont rlly like harry potter books at all… i didnt even like to read at all until my friend chelsea told me to read twilight…now i own all three books and i pre-ordered the fourth one about 2 or 3 months ago
May 10th, 2008 at 11:44 am
They ‘re both fabulous & they can’t be compared, because they haven’t written the same kind of stories. I love JK Rowling, thx for your amazing books, that impressed me so much. HP ;*
And thx, Stephenie, for your dazzling series, which made me obsessed with themselves & are absolutly enthusiastic. Edward ly ;*
I LOVE THEM BOTH.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
meyer, of course. i only read one of the harry-potter series, but i’m going all out on twilight.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:28 am
You guys really need to stop just STOP comparing two great novelists. They both are just good at what they do. And their stories are unique simply unique. JK’s more of the action more Harry and Voldie while SM is love you know like they’re both different and they’re both cool!
May 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Stephenie Meyer is better, end of story.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:08 am
I think that u they should make a movie of twilight. It was the best book i have ever read.I hate to read and I really like to say this was good.So for the repeats
May 18th, 2008 at 10:21 am
okay, cool!! cause i totally agree that they are like minded. both their series’s ROCK!!! though i wish everyone would give up and stop comparing twilight and harry potter, cause while the authors are “similar” the books are so not.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Stephenie Meyer, no lies. She’s just amazing, sorry to JK fans. I love JK too, I just think Stephenie is a lot better.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Walmart messed up and put the special edition Eclipse on the shelves . . . so the preface and first chapter of breaking dawn is available for those fiending for it.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
i love hp books but.. i don’t know ..but when i read twilight i was like all the day reading the book..my vote is 4 stephenie
June 1st, 2008 at 1:20 am
ok, no offense and i know i’m a minority here, but sm’s writing is really…not that great. to be honest, i find her writing to be a bit irritating. twilight had almost no plot and the characters seem kinda shallow. i had to put the book down for like a week bc the things edward and bella say to each other was just so nauseating, cheesy and repetitve. sorry. but i’ll admit i love the stoyline, the book just could’ve been written so much better. i think sm’s a good storyteller, but as a writer there’s a lot of room for improvement. please don’t bash me…it’s just an honest opinion. but i’m still really excited for the movie (mostly bc of rob pattinson)
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Stephenie Meyer allll the way!!!!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
For me I will always choose Harry Potter over Twilight. True, I did love the twilight series the first time i read them but they just don’t compare. I re-read the harry potter books at least twice a year, and every time I love them more. But when I tried to read twilight almost a year after the first time i made it through, I just got bored. I feel like she repeats constantly that Edward and Bella like to talk about them. It just gets annoying when nothing interesting happens after 200 pages.
Whose the better author?
I give SM credit. She can pull in the female readers.
But Jk can engross everyone from 4-year-olds to death. She can also tie a plot together over 7 books.
Sm was great, but I just don’t think she will ever match up.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Being an avid reader who had read the entire HP series and Twilight (as well as the host), I must first say that I enjoyed all works of each of the author’s immensely. They are both incredibly talented, and I wish I could weave stories as they do.
As far as writing style, I prefer Rowling. She has a more eloquent, deliberate style. Meyer can grab and engross you as well, but hers is more like having someone talking to you. It makes for a faster, easier read than deciphering the pieces Rowling gives us. I enjoy interpreting the symbolism and themes of books, and Twilight is too straightforward to have much of a discussion there. The Host has more to offer in that department, but 600 pages cannot give as much material as the thousands accumulated throughout Harry Potter.
I can’t pick a favorite; Meyer offers us the ideal love and a whirlwind romance. Rowling delivers with more flawed, realistic characters and a struggle for life. Meyer TELLS us what we need to know, Rowling SHOWS us.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:36 am
stephanie meyer!!!
i tried eading harry potter once and i really didnt get it
June 15th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Are you people insane? How can you even make that sort of comparison? Have you read the atrocious drivel you are peddling?
A key difference in their styles is that JK writes well, few people can level that sort of accusation at Twilight. For pete’s sake, it’s about a sparkly vampire, it’s 500 pages long, and nothing happens for the first 300, her description, which she flagrantly refuses to stop, consists of stringing together random adjectives and her characterisation of the central protagonist essentially that she falls over a lot and for some unexplained reason, every boy introduced wants to get in her pants. Surely several million tweenage girls can’t be reading this because they find it as inherently hilarious as I do, in which case we might have a problem.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
hey i like all the charoctors but the guy that plzys edward i dont know im going to have to give a coment agter i watch the movie. i cant wait till breaking dawn comes out, does any one know a realy good book to go from after reading twighlight series i already read harry potter so i dont know wat othere eries is as good as this one!!!!!! plz help!!!!! :p
June 18th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
you know meghan i agree with u fully to that etent i just doent know what to read after i finish the twighlight series i already read harry potter so what can be as good as these two series.. any one plz help need book!!!!!!!!!!
June 18th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
EDNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how can u say that to JK i mean she is such a good wrighter just try to push ur self tot he third book thats wer u get hooked but im not saying i dont love SM its just ithink that u better read harry potter before u go judging how u like it or not on the very firstbook
June 18th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I can’t believe you people are even trying to compare the two. Jo wins, hands down. She has created a whole WORLD, where stephenie meyer’s created a little village. i mean, stephenie meyer is a great writer, but there’s no competition. (i do agree with Ann, as it shouldn’t be a competition, but since people are so determined to make it one..) Jo just has so much more creativity, you can tell. plus, her series both genders can relate really well to. i know there are guys who read twilight, but honestly, how well do you think most of them can relate to the series?
And JKR is British. so she is immediately so much cooler than any competing american writer.
Twilight is SO trying to mooch off of Harry Potter’s fandom.
There will never be a fandom like Harry Potter’s. EVER.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I very much agree with everything Natalie pointed out.
Also, J.K. loves her characters more than any other author could love theirs.
And for many other Harry Potter fans like me, Twilight was a pick-up book/series. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves after Deathly Hallows, and Eclipse just happened to be there. We needed a shoulder to cry on, and they couldn’t have picked a better timing for eclipse and the twilight movie, to take advantage of all those vulnerable, mourning Harry Potter fans.
One main thing about Twilight that Harry Potter lacks, is the heavy romance. There’s constant swooning, kissing, mushy stuff that Harry Potter doesn’t need to make it an amazing series. Many Twilighters are total saps for that mushy romantic crap, which is why they love it so much, and *couldn’t get into Harry Potter.* Or they just couldn’t understand it so they put it down without giving it a real chance.
Stephenie meyer is a very good author, but comparing her to J.K. Rowling is just not plausible.
**Long Live Jo**
June 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
evie i totaly agree with you! TWIghlight helped me after i finished harry potter. i t might not be as good as harry but at least it gave eme satisfactory after reading one of the best series in the world! But were do i go after i read the twighlight series???? PLZ HELP ANY BoDY PLZ!!!!
:0 HELP!!!!!!!
June 19th, 2008 at 10:16 am
beeve i dont know a realy good book to read after finishing the twighlight series but if ur looking for a short book to read to lst you before breaking dawn comes out try LOVE SICK or FLIPPED there both pretty short but it will last long unoff
*ANNA****
June 19th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I fell in love with Harry Potter way before i read Twilight. i have to say they are close, but i would have to pick twilight over HP. Thanks to both writers for inspiring me to write.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Esme i how could you say that harry potter is one of the best series in the world!!! i will always pick harry potter over twighlight but i have to say twighlights the one good romance book ive ever read! So thnx S.M. for making me actually like romantic book im tottally IN LOVE with Edward if only he were real!!!
********$$SarraBear$$*********
June 20th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Sarra if there was a man that was just ike Edward i would tottally get him first…. but i want him so bad and you know Evie you are right some girls just harry potter lacks romance and everything but thats the reason i love twighlight because of the heavy mushy gushy romance. THats what make twighlight so good!! Edward i love you!!!!!! and if there is a man reading this right now and who is exactually like eward plz reach me! I LOVE YOU EDWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 26th, 2008 at 2:23 am
i think they both really good…
but for this time, i think i kinda like SM…
cause i already watch the movie of HP, and read the book…
so i want to know a new one…
so, exactly they both were really good at writing, they had some imaginary…
so, love them all!!