Dinner for Two at a Harry Potter Restaurant ?

Would you like to go out to dinner at a Harry Potter themed restaurant? Well, according to the Business Journal, you might be able to make those reservations in the future. This article says that a new Harry Potter themed restaurant is in the works and will open in the future. Steve Schussler, who hadContinued...

Half-Blood Prince Plot Speculation Continues

With the new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book due to be released this year, the speculation grows on what the plot will be, and which character may die. The Star-Telegram newspaper has an article that says possible clues to Harry's future may be found in Lord of the Rings or fromContinued...

2004: The Year in HP: A Leaky Cauldron Review

Happy New Year everyone! Because 2005 is going to be such a big year for Harry
Potter fans, we thought now was a good time to look back at 2004, which
wasn't too shabby either where we're concerned. Editor Sue scoured our archives
and found all our 2004 highlights, so we hope you enjoy this littleContinued...

Marko-Grinch: Potter Books Just Puffed Up Publicity

Grinch alert: We've been about due for one of these Potter harangues for some time. This time it's from a new face, not William Safire or A.S. Byatt or even Harold Bloom. It's retired business editor Jack Markowitz of the Tribune Review who calls the Potter books "the most over-praised,Continued...

Happy Birthday TLC Poster Delleve, from Jo

To those of you who were wondering in our comments section on Monday night (while everyone was going mad putting the puzzle together in real-time) whether Jo was sitting there cackling at us figuring all this out, here's your answer from the lady herself:

So now you know! Harry Potter and the Half-BloodContinued...

Updates to News and Rumors on JKRowling.com; HBP to have "fewer" than 38 chapters

She's updated the NEWS section of her website with a note about the July 16, 2005 release of HBP; there's a PS, too:

P.S. Anyone interested in the 'hidden meaning' of the riddles and questions you had to answer before getting the message behind the doorContinued...

Chapter Count E-Mail an Error, says Scholastic; Book "Just Beginning Editing"

Earlier today, a Dutch fan site e-mailed to say that Scholastic told them that Half-Blood Prince was 38 chapters long; we've just had word from a Scholastic rep that the e-mail was "an error," and that "the book is just beginning the editing process andContinued...

HBP "A bit shorter" than OotP

We've also received confirmation from Bloomsbury that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is "a bit shorter" than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (MuggleNet reported this this morning.)

News Stories Herald Arrival of Half-Blood Prince

Many news stories are surfacing about the arrival of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Reuters has this story, which says that Scholastic will retail the book for $29.99 here in the US. We will update once the major online retailers have their pre-orders up as well.
Scholastic says theContinued...

OFFICIAL: HBP to be Released on July 16, 2005

It's official! July 16, 2005, will bring the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The news comes from Bloomsbury, JKR's British publishers, this morning:

"Harry Potter and the Half-BloodContinued...

HBP Release Stories Popping Up Everywhere; Scholastic says Release Date to be Announced in Morning

Newspapers and wire services all over are reporting the happy HBP News (even I wrote a story about it for tomorrow's edition of my newspaper). The Associated Press story so far appears in:

Newsday
ABC News
San Francisco Chronicle
Yahoo!

HBP Release Date to be Announced in 24 Hours

All right, we couldn't wait for you all to break into JKR's study.
Jo Rowling has announced on her site that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is FINISHED, and we should hear a release date from her publishers in the next 24 hours. Check back here for updates.

Here's what JKR says aboutContinued...

J.K.Rowling and "Once Upon a Poem"

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has contributed a small quote that is included in a new children's poetry book. Once Upon a Poem: Favourite Poems That Tell Stories is a collection of poems with introductions from a variety of authors such as Philip Pullman, Cornelia Funke, and Mary Pope Osborne. J.K. RowlingContinued...

JKR on Satanism and Censorship

Jo Rowling speaks about being called a Satanist by people who want to get her books banned here:

"I ask myself first of all how they actually read the books. Can they read? And if they read the books I am truly mystified that they could say that about them."

Tweak to JKRowling.com Welcome Page: Book Six On the Way?

Extremely perceptive reader Potterfan has notified us that the "Welcome" note on JKRowling.com's front page has changed slightly in the past day from this:

This is where I can tell you the truth about rumours or news stories, where I can share the extra information I haven'tContinued...