About Melissa
Melissa Anelli is an author, podcaster, and general lover of the things that bring people together.
She’s been at the center of Harry Potter fandom since 2001, when she joined The Leaky Cauldron and quickly became its editor-in-chief, growing it into one of the most-visited fan sites in the world. She reported on the phenomenon for media outlets worldwide and co-hosted PotterCast, one of the first major podcasts in the world. In 2009, she co-founded LeakyCon, a Harry Potter convention that became a landmark annual gathering for the fan community and ran through 2024. She wrote Harry, A History (Simon & Schuster, 2008), with a foreword by J.K. Rowling, to record that phenomenon and write a love letter to the community that changed her life.
A Georgetown University graduate, she spent several years as a daily news reporter and features writer in New York City before building the company that would grow from a fan site into a full-scale events operation. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, daughter, and dog.
About the Book
I wrote Harry, A History (Simon & Schuster, 2008) to record the remarkable history of the Harry Potter phenomenon and write a love letter to a community that changed my life.
It debuted on the New York Times best-seller list, and the best part is that I’m still hearing from readers who say it helped them relive that period or understand what they missed.
Free ExcerptRead the opening chapter→Chronicling ten years of Pottermania, Anelli dishes up a revealing, delicious insider’s view…vividly capturing the exhilaration of being part of what was at once a community and a movement.
In her vivid and illuminating book, Anelli unravels what lies beneath the Harry Potter phenomenon… crammed with details and facts, this is a heartfelt, well-written book by a true insider.
- original paperback
- enhanced e-book
- audio edition