A Journalist Who Makes Sense Of The Law

A Harry Potter Fan, at Home and at Work

NEWSWEEK General Editor Malcolm Jones and his 11-year-old daughter, Susannah, share a fascination with the Harry Potter series of books. For Christmas last year, he decorated a small bookcase with handpainted pictures from the Potter stories. The recipient was a grateful but severe critic. “She noticed right away that Dumbledore’s glasses weren’t half moons and that the Golden Snitch did not have wings,” Jones says. “I think we know now who the real Harry Potter expert in this house is.” Jones is pretty expert himself: He’s served as NEWSWEEK’s book critic for 10 years, writing about everyone from Frank McCourt to Stephen King. Last month, Jones traveled to the woods of New Hampshire to talk to J.K. Rowling, author of the Potter series. Her latest, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” will be released next weekend. You’ll find the exclusive interview on page 56.