While much of America was watching the second presidential debate, about 2,000 people — many of them between the ages of 20 and 40 — were doing something very different. They had gotten a rare and prized ticket to the only U.S. appearance by J.K Rowling, as she promotes her new book for adults, The Casual Vacancy.
The crowd was huge but happy — double the number originally planned, forcing the organizers to change venues. Attendees got a ticket to the Lincoln Center event and a copy of the book, which Rowling would later sign.
Two hours before the event, P.J. Clarke’s, a noted before-theater restaurant across the street, was filled with fans of Rowling and Harry Potter. There were tables of 10 and 12 scattered about, reunions of people from all over the country. Andrew Slack, in his 30s, sat at one of the tables. Slack runs a Harry Potter-themed activism alliance: It sent five cargo planes to Haiti, he said, and founded libraries all over the world. He said Harry Potter shaped not only his life but his career.
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