Earlier this week, we reported on some of the details of the special midnight party in Edinburgh, Scotland for Half-Blood Prince release, and now The Times has some additional information about this magical event. After arriving in 12 carriages “drawn by black horses adorned with black ostrich plumes and driven by coachmen dressed in capes,” …read more!

The Scotsman is reporting about some new research that was conducted in the UK about the influence of the Harry Potter books on children’s literacy. A result of this research by The Federation of Children’s Book Groups shows that reading the Potter books have proven very beneficial to children’s reading abilities. “Almost six out of …read more!

We’re happy to announce that the PotterParties.com Web site now has information about over 2000 release parties for next weekend. The site will stop accepting party submissions at 12:00am ET, Tuesday, July 12th. Be sure to make sure the event you are attending is entered and spread the word to the hundreds of Harry Potter …read more!

Everyone have their pencils sharpened? brushed up on your Potter knowledge? If so, here is a look at the New York Times Harry Potter Crossword Puzzle, which will be published in papers tomorrow. Enjoy! size=”-1″>Note: Our comments are temporarily disabled to save the server from im- or exploding. Please visit the Daily Prophet Offices section …read more!

As we told you previously, NBC’s The Today Show will be featuring our favorite wizard all next week. Jim Dale, the narrator of the US Harry Potter audio books, will be performing a reading on Tuesday, July 12th. Also the contest for the Total Trivia Tournament Champion will air on July 14th. There are lots …read more!

Our Floo team has come up with something amazing again; the crew at the Harry Potter Lexicon has unveiled a major update, including full working archives of the door openings on JKR.com – this means if you’ve been out of town and missed it, or just want to do it again, you can got to …read more!

Today’s poll, “What is the underlying theme of the HP series?” is up. This is part of our forum’s Poll-a-Day-till-HBP; you can see the other polls here. Severus Snape won yesterday’s “Favorite Villian” post by a landslide 37% of the vote. In second was Professor Dolores Umbridge (13%) and in third Lucius Malfoy (11%). Also, …read more!

Today’s Miami Herald has an article about HBP event planning, and some tips from kids, teens & parents planning Potter themed events – and yes, there’s a suggestion that planners visit PotterParties for more tips. There’s also a list of local HBP events including a discount day at the Seaquarium for those in costume.

Today’s Sydney Morning Herald (free registration required) offers a short piece on the publishing history of Harry, along with brief interviews from a variety of people on why the series is important: From writer/critic Kerryn Goldsworthy: In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hagrid the Giant is upset because there are people at Hogwarts …read more!

The “Ask Jo” contest is over, and the points stand thus: 1. theotherhermit, with 20% of the vote 2. RedMane, with 19% of the vote 3. hpmons, with 13% of the vote The three questions that TLC will definitely ask Jo Rowling on July 16 are, respectively: – Do memories in a Pensieve reflect reality …read more!