Timeline of Harry Potter Fandom

Fandom:	Harry Potter
Dates:	1997-
See also:
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1997

• June: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first novel in the series, is published in the United Kingdom. Major character introduced include Harry, the Dursleys, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and his family, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Hagrid, and Albus Dumbledore.

1998

• July: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second novel, is published in the United Kingdom. The characters Gilderoy Lockhart, Colin Creevey, and Dobby are introduced.
• October: The first novel is published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

1999

• June: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is published in the United States.
• July/September: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third novel, is published in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and the Marauder's Map are introduced.
• July: The fansites Harry Potter's Realm of Wizardry and The Unofficial Harry Potter Fan Club are started.
• September 4: The first HP story is posted to Fanfiction.net.
• September: The mailing list Harry Potter for GrownUps is started.
• November: The newsgroup alt.fan.harry-potter is started.
• October: The fansite MuggleNet opens.

2000

• July: The Leaky Cauldron fansite is started.
• July: The Harry Potter Lexicon is started.
• July: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is published in the United Kingdom and North America. Cedric Diggory becomes the first recurring character in the series to die. The Three-Year Summer begins.
• August: Cassandra Claire starts posting chapters of the popular fanfic epic The Draco Trilogy.

2001

• January: The Sugar Quill, a fanfiction and fanart archive, opens. SQ is for canon-compliant pairings.
• March: The Harry Potter "textbooks" Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are published. Proceeds benefit Comic Relief.
• June 22: Fanfiction.net removes The Draco Trilogy from their site for TOS violations (plagiarism). Some fans of Cassie Claire are upset.
• Summer: FictionAlley, an all-pairing, all-genre fanfiction archive, opens and gives a new home to The Draco Trilogy.
• November: The film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is released.
• November–December: Cassie Claire and others are stalked by the husband of a Gryffindor Tower admin.

2002

• June: Harry and the Potters is the first wizard rock group to form.
• October: The fansite HPANA, a news aggregator, opens.
• The Livejournal RPG Nocturne Alley starts.
• September/November: On September 12, Fanfiction.net bans NC-17-rated stories. By November, the adult fanfic archive Restricted Section opens.
• November: The het fanfiction archive Portkey.org opens.
• November: The film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is released.

2003

• January: The Restricted Section and the Potter Slash Archive receive Cease & Desist notices from J.K. Rowling's literary agent and Warner Bros., ordering them to take down sexually explicit material.
• January: The fanfiction archive Checkmated opens. Checkmated includes Ron/Hermione stories, plus others.
• June: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is published, ending the Three-Year Summer. Dolores Umbridge, Nymphadora Tonks, and Luna Lovegood are introduced. Sirius Black dies.
• July 17–20: The Nimbus 2003 convention is held. Fans play Muggle Quidditch for the first time?
• November: The Livejournal fanfic community Pornish Pixies starts.
• December: The newsletter community QuickQuote starts.

2004

• May: J.K. Rowling launches her redesigned official site, featuring exclusive content and new information about the HP universe.
• May: The newsletter community Daily Snitch starts.
• May/June: The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is released.
• June 30: The RPG Nocturne Alley concludes its two-year arc.
• November 18: Recs community Crack Broom founded.

2005

• Big Bang, Baby, a Harry/Draco fic/art challenge, is the first Big Bang challenge.
• April: The newsletter community Hogwarts Today starts.
• July: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is published. Fans and non-fans alike are spoiled for Dumbledore's death.
• October 6–10: The Witching Hour convention is held in Salem, Massachusetts.
• November: The film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released.

2006

• June 1: The first episode of Snapecast, the all Snape, all the time podcast, is released.
• June 15: An anonymous fan posts The MsScribe Story: An Unauthorized Fandom Biography to the bad_penny community on JournalFen.
• July 27–30: The fancon Lumos is held in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2]

2007

• March 23: Potter Puppet Pals releases "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" on YouTube
• May: Livejournal suspends over 500 users in Strikethrough, including Pornish Pixies. In most cases, the suspension is reversed, but many HP fans and communities look for alternative hosting sites.
• May 17–21: Phoenix Rising is held in New Orleans, Louisiana.[3]
• July: The film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released.
• July: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final novel, is published, instigating Potterdämmerung. Many characters die. Many fans ignore the epilogue, while others start creating Albus Severus/Scorpius and other Next Gen fanworks.
• July: Sectus is held in London, England.
• August: Prophecy is held in Toronto, Ontario.
• August 5: The Potter Report by kohikari details the state of Harry Potter fic on fanfiction.net.(Archived.)
• October: J.K. Rowling sues Harry Potter Lexicon creater Steve Vander Ark for attempting to publish a print version of the website, initiating the Harry Potter Lexicon Trial.
• December: A limited handwritten edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of children's stories from Deathly Hallows, is sold at auction for £1.95 million.

2008

• June: An 800-word "Harry Potter prequel" written by Rowling sells at auction for £25,000. The story describes James and Sirius's encounter with the Muggle police.
• July 10–13: The fan con Portus [4] is held in Dallas, Texas.
• July 25–27: The academic? conference Accio [5] is held in Oxford, England.
• August 7–11: The fan con Terminus (2008) [6] is held in Chicago, Illinois.
• December: The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published for the general public. Proceeds go to the Children's High Level Group.

2009

• May 21–24: The first LeakyCon is held.[7]
• June: Publication of StarKid's A Very Potter Musical on YouTube.
• July: The film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released.
• July: The fan con Azkatraz[8] is held.

2010

• June: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opens to the public at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.
• July 15–18: The fan con Infinitus[9] is held in Orlando, Florida.
• July 22: StarKid's A Very Potter Sequel is published on YouTube. Receives over 160,000 views in 2 days.
• November: The film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is released.

2011

• April 28-May 1: The fan convention Aeternitas [10] is held in Laconia, New Hampshire.
• June 16–19: The fan convention Lubricus is held.
• July: The film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II is released. Various mainstream media outlets publish a number of accounts that reference HP fans and fan activity, including The Boy Who Lived Forever by Lev Grossman.
• July 31: Pottermore opens registration for its limited beta release.

2012

• April 14: Pottermore opens to the public.
• August 11: StarKid's A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year is performed at LeakyCon in Chicago.
• August 16–19: The fan convention Lubricus is held.

2013

• March 15: StarKid's A Very Potter Senior Year is released on YouTube. Reaches over 400,000 views that month.
• September: J.K. Rowling announces that she is writing a film series based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The story will be set 70 years before the events in the novels and will feature Newt Scamander.
• December: Plans for a Harry Potter stage play are announced, with Rowling as a producer. The play is described as "the previously untold story of Harry Potter’s early years as an orphan and outcast."

2014

• June/July: The "second phase" of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opens to the public at Universal Studios Florida. In July, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens to the public at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

2016

• July 3: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiers at the Palace Theatre, London.
• July 31: Script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child "Special Rehearsal Edition" is published.
• November 18: The Fantastic Beasts film series, a spin-off and prequel of the original series, begins with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

2017

• April 9: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wins 9 Laurence Olivier Awards, breaking the record for winning the most awards by a single production.
• July 25: Script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child "Definitive Collector's Edition" is published.

2018

• April 22: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens on Broadway.
• April 25: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is released.
• November 16: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is released to mixed fan reception.

2019

• June 20: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is released.

2020

• Following J.K. Rowling's transphobic remarks, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron release a joint statement rejecting Rowling's beliefs on transgender rights and detailing their commitment to providing a safe community where all feel welcome.

2022

• January 1: The television special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is released.
• April 8: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is released.

2023

• January: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is shut down.
• February 10: Hogwarts Legacy is released to chart-topping sales amid controversy and boycotts.
• A Harry Potter TV series is announced to be in development at HBO Max.