--- description: J.K. Rowling's original pitch for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is now on display at the British Library. title: Read the Original Harry Potter Pitch That Publishers Rejected From J.K. Rowling image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03cf62383612f037/6988e350ab6d775df76b05bf/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-pitch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read the Original _Harry Potter_ Pitch That Publishers Rejected From J.K. Rowling  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 25, 2017 6:08 PM CUT  J.K. Rowling attends the 70th BAFTA Awards at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. J.K. Rowling attends the 70th BAFTA Awards at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England.Samir Hussein/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 25, 2017 6:08 PM CUT To celebrate the [20th anniversary](http://time.com/4832670/harry-potter-j-k-rowling-20th-anniversary-tweet/ "undefined") of the release of the first book in the [_Harry Potter_](http://time.com/4859407/harry-potter-heartwarming-moments/ "undefined")series, [J.K. Rowling’s](http://time.com/4935766/jk-rowling-on-fan-question/ "undefined") original pitch for _The Philosopher’s Stone_ is now on display at the British Library as part of its “Harry Potter: A History of Magic” exhibition. The pitch — which was [reportedly](http://ew.com/books/2017/10/24/harry-potter-jk-rowling-original-pitch/ "undefined") sent to publishers alongside the novel’s first few chapters — gives a brief synopsis of Harry’s introduction to the wizarding world after spending the first eleven years of his life living with the Dursleys at 4 Privet Drive. “Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin because his parents died in a car-crash—or so he has been told,” it begins. “The Dursleys don’t like Harry asking questions; in fact, they don’t seem to like anything about him, especially the very odd things that keep happening around him (which Harry himself can’t explain).” Rowling has previously revealed that her manuscript was rejected by 12 different publishing houses before Bloomsbury took a gamble on it. Obviously, this decision more than paid off. The full first page of the 1995 pitch read as follows: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4996888/harry-potter-j-k-rowling-original-pitch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4996888/harry-potter-j-k-rowling-original-pitch/"},"headline":"Read the Original Harry Potter Pitch That Publishers Rejected From J.K. Rowling","datePublished":"2017-10-25T18:08:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:59:52.056Z","description":"\"Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin\"","url":"https://time.com/4996888/harry-potter-j-k-rowling-original-pitch/","keywords":["Books","Harry Potter","J.K. 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