2008 Woodie Awards
ND junior writes bestselling Harry Potter book
'Mugglenet' site draws 40 million hits each month, earns Spartz six figures per year
Madeline Buckley
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: News
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It's not every college junior who can plump his résumé with running a Web site that receives 40 million hits a month and co-authoring a book that spent 26 weeks on The New York Times children's bestseller list.
But Notre Dame junior Emerson Spartz can, and it all goes back to Harry Potter.
The Mugglenet.com site - one of the most popular Harry Potter sites online - had already garnered Spartz significant income and an exclusive interview with author J.K. Rowling.
But in May 2006, Spartz received an email from Ulysses Press, a publishing company that expressed interest in a book of his insights into the Harry Potter series. Three months later, Spartz and a team of friends had completed the book, entitled "That Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love, and How Will the Adventure Finally End." It was published in November 2006 and quickly became a bestseller.
Spartz's passion for all things Potter began when he was 12 years old.
"I read the first and second Harry Potter book[s] in one night, and finished the third the next day," he said. "A month later I started Mugglenet."
The highly successful Harry Potter Web site was a product of both passion and opportunity.
"I had just started home schooling, and had too much time on my hands," he said. "So I thought, what the hell, and I made a Web site."
The site that had humble beginnings blossomed after hard work.
"I didn't have huge plans when I started," Spartz said. "But when I saw what potential it had, I was determined to put in as much effort as possible to make it the biggest and most comprehensive Harry Potter site on the Internet."
Eight years later, Mugglenet certainly is one of the biggest Harry Potter Web sites. It earns Spartz more than $100,000 a year, he said, which he invests in global energy projects involving solar power.
Spartz has been able to manage the site while pursuing his studies because he has learned to delegate.
But Notre Dame junior Emerson Spartz can, and it all goes back to Harry Potter.
The Mugglenet.com site - one of the most popular Harry Potter sites online - had already garnered Spartz significant income and an exclusive interview with author J.K. Rowling.
But in May 2006, Spartz received an email from Ulysses Press, a publishing company that expressed interest in a book of his insights into the Harry Potter series. Three months later, Spartz and a team of friends had completed the book, entitled "That Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love, and How Will the Adventure Finally End." It was published in November 2006 and quickly became a bestseller.
Spartz's passion for all things Potter began when he was 12 years old.
"I read the first and second Harry Potter book[s] in one night, and finished the third the next day," he said. "A month later I started Mugglenet."
The highly successful Harry Potter Web site was a product of both passion and opportunity.
"I had just started home schooling, and had too much time on my hands," he said. "So I thought, what the hell, and I made a Web site."
The site that had humble beginnings blossomed after hard work.
"I didn't have huge plans when I started," Spartz said. "But when I saw what potential it had, I was determined to put in as much effort as possible to make it the biggest and most comprehensive Harry Potter site on the Internet."
Eight years later, Mugglenet certainly is one of the biggest Harry Potter Web sites. It earns Spartz more than $100,000 a year, he said, which he invests in global energy projects involving solar power.
Spartz has been able to manage the site while pursuing his studies because he has learned to delegate.