The Scotsman - Entertainment- Rowling prize is a Nobel cause
The Scotsman reports that a US author, James Downey, has launched a global internet campaign
http://www.nobelprizeforjo.com/
to have the Scottish writer nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature. Over to you, as they say.
Okay, this is at the petty end of the issue, but just how is JKR Scottish?
It's hard to articulate what I object to in the idea of a Nobel for Rowling in a way which does not commit bigotry; but the kind of fiction Rowling does is not what the Nobel is *for.* She's not original and she doesn't write all that well. She's telling a good story which caught a lucky break and attracted a lot of attention, and I am in favor of all that, but popularity is a fleeting thing and the Nobel should be given to someone who's of the ages. That's not always what happens, but it should be encouraged.
I like the idea of a Nobel going to someone who writes for young people, but it should go to someone of solider virtues than Rowling. I'd say Diana Wynne Jones (IMHO the greatest living writer in the English language, but what do I know?), except that once you win these big money prizes, you stop writing, and I want her to write till she falls dead at the age of 125 with her nose stuck between the keys as she types "The End." So I doubt I'll be pleased, whatever happens.