June 27, 2005
Harry Potter Arrives in the US
Bookseller Barnes and Noble is reporting that the first US shipment of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be arriving today at their distribution center in Jamesburg, New Jersey. By July 16, tractor-trailers will have delivered an estimated four millions pounds of Harry Potter.
The Bookseller has already received more than 750,000 pre-orders and expects that number to reach more than one million by the time the book goes on sale.
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be the bestselling pre-order book in publishing history," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We expect more than three million customers will visit over 700 Barnes & Noble stores in the first 24 hours, and that the book will shatter all records."
Read more Here.
June 16, 2005
Interviews to Watch For
With only 29 Days till the release of Half-Blood Prince, there are a few interviews that you will not want to miss.
Because her books basically sell themselves, Rowling is given a luxury many authors can't afford - no grueling book tour and very few interviews. Therefore when word came down that Rowling will be interviewed by Katie Couric and also media affiliate Time Magazine, there is reason to get excited! There is no date set yet for the publication of the interview, but we're sure to get word soon from The Leaky Cauldron. The Couric/Rowling interview is currently slated for broadcast July 17 on Dateline and July 18 on the Today Show.
And as reported here last month, 70 cub reporters from around the world will have a Q&A session with Rowling at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on Sunday July 17. Melissa Anelli of The Leaky Cauldron and Emerson of Mugglenet will interview Rowling in her Edinburgh home on Saturday July 16.
There are currently no interviews scheduled in the week's before the book's release.
June 10, 2005
Back Cover Revealed!
Bloomsbury has revealed the full cover jacket for the children's version of the HBP. Let's hope Scholastic will follow suit! You can view the cover Here.
Note: Bloomsbury has removed all summary text from the jacket. You will view the artwork only.
June 06, 2005
Happy Birthday to Jason Isaacs!
I can't believe Wizard News is the only HP site to have this up! Poor forgotten Jason. . .
Anyway, Mr. Isaacs was born in Liverpool, England in 1963 making him 42 today. In addition to his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy, he is famous among HP circles for this quote:
"I went off and read the books after the audition and I read all four books in one sitting - you know - didn't wash, didn't eat, drove around with them on the steering wheel like a lunatic. I suddenly understood why my friends, who I'd thought where slightly backward, had been so addicted to these children's books. They're like crack."
We know exactly what you mean Jason! Hope you're having a great day. (P.S. We love your Birthday suit pic, by the way.)
June 05, 2005
Love is in the Air
Apparently it's darned near impossible to get any information about the HBP from American Scholastic Editor, Arthur Levine. But he did let a few 'minor' spoilerish elements slip in this latest interview with Newsday media writer Aileen Jacobson.
Jacobson reports:
"Alas, I was less successful wheedling any information about the new Harry Potter from the book's editor, Arthur Levine. "There's a new character named Maclaggen," he said, and spelled the name. And . . . ? And nothing. Levine clammed up. Jim Dale had mentioned yesterday that somebody dies. True? "I can neither confirm nor deny." Does Harry have a girlfriend? "I can't say . . . He's definitely growing up in all areas of his life." Later, he said he didn't experience this book to be as dark as the last, though the overall arc of the series is that the "world is getting more pernicious." This one, he said, "has more romance in general." And then he and marketing VP Jennifer Pasanen, who was sitting in, started humming "Love is in the air." Well, it's a clue.
Unless someone swipes a copy of "HP and the Half-Blood Prince" (as two men already did in London, but they were caught), we'll have to wait until July 16."
You can view the article Here.
June 03, 2005
It's that time again . . .
It seems a couple Harry Potter fans were a little too eager for the release of the next book - so eager, in fact, that they took matters into their own hands and decided to buy burgled copies of the latest novel by JK Rowling.
For full information click here and here
Remember that story of the copies of OotP found in the open field? Yeah, one of the people attempting to get his mitts on HBP was a journalist for The Sun, the paper reporting that story in 2003 about the missing books that had been found.
Hmm...
June 01, 2005
An Interview in our Midst
In two weeks' time, there might be some more information to ponder about the new book (or merely questions answered)! Katie Couric will be interviewing JK Rowling in Scotland in ... two weeks. As The-Leaky-Cauldron has said: more information will be provided soon.
If you really want to read it yourself, go here. There isn't anything new other than what has been written already.