J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter Series (File Photo)

    BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Two of America's heavyweight writers, John Irving and Stephen King, on Tuesday begged J.K. Rowling not to kill off Harry Potter in the final book of the series, according to a Reuters report.

    "My fingers are crossed for Harry," Irving, the author of "The World According to Garp" and a string of other bestsellers, commented at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

    Horror writer King, who shot to fame in 1974 with "Carrie," said he had confidence that Rowling would be "fair" to her hero.

    "I don't want him to go over the Reichenbach Falls," King said, referring to Arthur Conan Doyle's effort to kill off the character of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Pressure from fans eventually led Conan Doyle to resurrect Holmes, who was found in a later story to have survived.

    Meanwhile, Rowling admits some fans will hate what happens in the seventh book in the series.

    "I can resolve the story now and it's fun in a way it wasn't before because finally I've reached my resolution, and I think some people will loathe it and some people will love it, but that's how it should be," she said.

    "I feel quite liberated," she added.

    Rowling is back in the United States for the first time in six years, headlining a two-day charity event, reading alongside King and Irving at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

    In June on British TV, Rowling revealed that two of her major characters would die in the final book, triggering speculation and alarm that Potter, the boy wizard, could be doomed. Enditem

    (Agencies)