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Friday March 2, 2007

Harry Potter fans give a warm welcome to Hebrew translator

jerusalem (ap) | Israeli Harry Potter fans elbowed their way in for autographs and photos — not with the author of the best-selling books but with the Hebrew translator.

More than 100 devotees of British writer J.K. Rowling’s series about a young wizard sat and stood for an hour recenly listening to Gili Bar-Hillel discuss the process of translating the six Harry Potter books, hoping for a hint about the upcoming seventh and last book.

“It’s ridiculous — this is something that never happens to translators,” Bar-Hillel said after speaking at the Jerusalem International Book Fair. “The attention I’ve received is because I’m translating Harry Potter. It’s Harry, not me.”

The six Harry Potter books have been translated into 64 languages and are such a huge hit that even their translators get a slice of the fame.

Yuval Avrami, a 17-year-old wearing a Harry Potter scarf his aunt made for him, said he had to come to hear Bar-Hillel speak because he’s read all the books in English and Hebrew. The fifth book, he said, was even better in Hebrew.

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