People compare Stephanie Meyer's and J.K Rowling's levels of fame but...?

Question

J.K is definitely world famous but I have almost exclusively encountered Meyer or the Twilight series on Yahoo! Answers. I live in England and I think that Meyer is hardly popular here. I am a teaching assistant and fewer than ten of the girls I encounter out of the several hundred have heard of the books. Therefore J.K seems wins in terms of fame and since I have read the first of Meyer's books in terms of writing.

I'd just like to know if there are any other Brits out there who disagree, or if anyone has anything to say to contradict my impressions, like if Meyer's won any awards or broken any records in the United Kingdom?

Answer 1

on a fame level i agree, but when it comes to twilight i think it has more publicity in america. i hadnt heard of twilight until a couple of years ago and my friends have never heard of it until now so its catching on but JK wins hands down on the fame level

Answer 2

J.K.R is more popular worldwide, and S.M in America, but i've turned 3 of my friends to Twilight, needless to say, they all love it, and Edward, although one of my friends prefers bigger guys so she quite likes Emmet.

I do think it is to do with the target audience, but im sure that when the film hits (I AM SOOOOOOO SEEING IT) people will realise it was based on a book and turn to them.

As much as i'm a bit obsessed with Twilight at the mo, and i love S.M, i can't see it ever doing as good as HP

Answer 3

J K is more popular and i can agree here in the UK the twilight books are not as popular. But they are starting to gain popularity, i think here in the UK. Most people had not heard of them at my school until recently but now i know of many people who have read them and heard of them. There has been freebies of extracts of the books in a magazine and the film is coming out here in january, so maybe it may gain popularity then. I don't think Meyer will ever be as popular, but its nice to have a change from the Harry Potter saga.  

Answer 4

it depends

yes j.k rowling is probably the best

but theres loads of people who think stephenie meyer is the best

people have differant opinions

im british and i think stephenie meyer is better

star 23 has a good point

i strted reading twilight from a freebie book from a magazine

it was th eonly first chapter and i brought the whole seriese that week.

Its getting more populer in britain because the movie comeing out and the newest book midnight sun

when it hits cinemas it will get a higher popularity

Answer 5

I'm in england. J.k is better known. Only one other girl I know has Read SM. and a Billion of my friends and my mum's friends have read J.K

Answer 6

In my opinion, J.K. Rowling is like...Angelina Jolie famous.

Stephenie Meyer is like Paris Hilton famous.

One has accomplished great things...one only thinks she has accomplished great things.

Answer 7

JK Rowling is most definatly more famous. Twilight is not as popular.

Answer 8

Nice comparison, Poppy.

Here in Canada, it's about Lukewarm. I personally haven't heard of it until mid-July when I turned to Y!A to decrease my summer boredom.

Jo has also done so much for the world and many different charities.

Answer 9

dont know who Stephanie Meyers is but if she is anything like J.K Rowling and writes the same tripe forget it.

Answer 10

I would agree with your thoughts. Stephenie Meyer relatively newer compared to J.K. Rowling. Besides, I believe that Harry Potter appeals to both males and females so there is more people out there to like the books, whereas Twilight is definitely geared more towards female readers. Also, Harry Potter has a much larger age range. My first graders loved Harry Potter and could read them with their parents at home. It would be inappropriate for first grade girls to read Twilight, nor would they be interested in it. However, in my opinion, both are equally great because they have succeeding in writing novels that have really encourage kids to read! That is not easy by any means and I think it is great to see kids who don't normally read really into these books.

Answer 11

I live in the UK and in my school a LOT of people have read Twilight. It's not the most amazing thing I've read, but then I'm sceptical. The point is that i managed to read the series at all- I am definitely not the type of person who usually reads romance! So I think Meyer has succesfully made one person read these type of books who doesn't usually. Isn't that good?

That said, the HP series has a broader appeal, to both sexes and all ages. An eight year old and an eighty year old can both enjoy HP.

In the future I think that the Harry Potter series will be looked upon as a classic, whist the Twilight series will be seen as more of a fad.

Answer 12

I dislike Rowling. Not because of her writing - which is adequate - but because so very many adults mistake it for something other than a kids' book. There are much better fantasy authors for grown-ups.

However, at least she created something a little bit original; the other bint simply ripped off White Wolf's 'Vampire; the Masquerade'.

Answer 13

Harry Potter's a world-wide sensation. Twilight is mostly here in America. It's read in twenty-something other languages, but those twenty-something other languages have a better taste in books, which is why Twilight isn't such a sensation in those parts of the world.

Besides, Jo Rowling has over 400 million copies of the books out compared to Meyer's measly 12 million copies.

Personally, Rowling isn't the most fabulous writer, but her books were fun to read.

Twilight has never bested Harry Potter, nor will it ever. And because of the recent canceling of Midnight Sun, it's time in the limelight is dwindling.  

Answer 14

Well, when I went to england for vacation and stayed with my cousins, there were four of six friends who all loved the books.

Answer 15

Of course Rowling is more famous. The HP series have been around for a decade and have had phenominal success. Plus the films have been massive too. Rowling is a house hold name - not only the UK but worldwide. Twilight and Meyers are mere blips in comparison.

Answer 16

LOL@ Poppy's Agelina Jolie :: Paris Hilton analogy, because it's true.

I'm not a Brit, but from everything I've seen online, Stephenie Meyer isn't all that popular outside the US. She's not a nonentity; she's just another author of teen romance (albeit with crazier fangirls than most).

I think the JKR comparisons only come into play because Meyer's a woman, her books contain fantasy elements, they are marketed to a young audience, and she has written a bestselling series that has an ardent fan following. If her publisher touts her as "the next JK Rowling," it's because they would *love* for her to be just that--every publisher of children's and young-adult fiction dreams of finding the next JKR.

When the press calls Meyer "the next JKR," I think it's mainly because they haven't the imagination to think of anything else. Plus, it stirs up debate, hooks some readers' interest, and possibly sells more magazines and/or pageviews because now that HP is done, readers have been looking for "the next Harry Potter."