JKRowling.com and the Book Six Title?

Jun 25, 2004

Posted by: Melissa Anelli

Uncategorized

We were going to wait for confirm/deny before posting this, but as these things do, it’s spreading around the net at the speed of, well, of Harry Potter fans, and we’d rather keep you informed. (We also need to stem the flood of emails…)
The rumor goes thus: a fan was fiddling with JKR’s site and wrenched open the locked door with the “Do Not Disturb” sign, somehow. And instead of the book with the Latin placeholder text, as usual, the book had a short missive from JKR about the writing of Book Six, as well as the title of the upcoming tome.

A video has been circulating showing the book opening, though the text is not visible there – it is only in an email that has also been circulating. You can read the text that’s been circulating by clicking the link below – beware possible spoilers.

While this is certainly a convincing bit of writing that sounds very JKR-esque, and the video is pretty good, there really is no confirmation yet, we cannot stress that enough. I don’t put it past certain fans to be having a little joke. The lack of any site address at which this was found is a bit of an interesting omission.

The entry is dated July 1, which goes with the roughly monthly updates we’ve come to expect from JKR.com.

Update: As many Leaky readers have pointed out, some of the text is Americanized (“realized” instead of “realised,” as is common British spelling), and some small details don’t seem to match JKR’s writing – i.e., “more clever,” instead of “cleverer” (she has used “cleverer” and “cleverest” throughout the books – I’d daresay this is also the proper grammar but I don’t have my reference book at hand). Also, the continous lack of a “how to” for finding this book, both from the original emailer and the legions (surely there are many clever fans who would have figured out how to duplicate the mistake by now) is troubling. Anyway, we’re all sure we’ll know soon.

Update #2: This is most likely a hoax. A very good hoax. Leaky readers have sent in more reasons to disbelieve this: apparently the font that “Book 6” is written in does not appear anywhere else on the site; the graining on the desk is odd; the “help” button on the page flickers whereas it stays solid throughout the rest of the site, and the Dark Mark is on the wrong side of the page (it should cover the spoiler area and require clicking.) Someone noted that it would be strange for JKR to put up info on the site before it was to be revealed – but that’s not true, as it seems her wizard of the month and fan site award were automatically made live on the first. Many are also speculating as to who’s “typing up” her words – now, we don’t know if she is sitting at her desk actually uploading things (Lightmaker may have set her up with a system like Blogger or Movable Type, where she can update without going into code), or if she is sending things to Lightmaker for posting – but it’s been made fairly clear to us that she is typing them, not dictating them.
The following text is being circulated as written in a hidden section of JKRowling.com:

Erm it is perhaps time for me to reveal the title of Book 6! I am nearing completion of the first draft and have definitely decided upon a title. I had numerous possibilities in mind, but as I wrote, I realized that only one did the book justice.

The more clever Potter fans may recognize that the title relates directly to both ‘Order of the Phoenix’ and ‘Chamber of Secrets.’ I will be highly amused if one of you can guess exactly what’s going on!

On a side note, the length of the book is growing so fast, I could swear Filius has put anEngorgement Charm on it; an editor’s nightmare! I promised myself not to exceed the length of ‘Order of the Phoenix,’ but every day that passes
makes that undertaking more difficult. Incidentally, I have much more work ahead.

Alas, the time has come! Here is the reward for you lot that so diligently figured out all the puzzles on the site. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, I will reveal to you the title of Book 6!

The title of Book 6 is: Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storg鮦lt;/blockquote>

Mugglenet has posted the video here.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.