J.K. Rowling has updated her website with the news she would be touring here in the United States in October of 2007. Jo says "The Open Book Tour" will include "four events, three to be held for schoolchildren in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City and one event in New York City for any U.S. Harry Potter fan who wins a ticket through a sweepstakes to be held by Scholastic, my US publishers. At each event, I will read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, answer questions about the entire series, and sign copies of the latest book."
Wow.
She continues on with the details:
I will be appearing at the Los Angeles Kodak Theater on Monday, October 15th; in
New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Auditorium at the Convention Center on Thursday, October 18th; and at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Friday, October 19th. In September, at the beginning of the 2007/2008 school year, Scholastic will select schools in each of the three cities to send students to the events. Each selected school will then be given a Sorting Hat to place in their school where they will have their own random drawing of students and classes to attend the events.
In addition to these three events for schoolchildren, there will be an event on the evening of October 19, 2007 in New York City, open to fans of all ages. One thousand readers will be selected in a sweepstakes and will receive a pair of tickets to the event at Carnegie Hall on Friday October 19 at 7 p.m.
Scholastic will launch the J.K. Rowling and the Open Book Tour Sweepstakes on July 30, 2007. Visit www.scholastic.com/harrypotter beginning July 30 for information on how to enter and complete rules.
UPDATE: Scholastic has now issued a press release, adding the following:
"What J.K. Rowling loves most is to talk with her readers, and that is what she will be able to do on this very special U.S. tour," said Lisa Holton, President, Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs. "Almost three months after the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling will engage in lively conversations with her fans in each of the three cities she will visit, seeking to once again experience touring the way it all began ten years ago and the way she most enjoys ... with a book, an author, and her readers."
Much as I’m ecstatic that she’s touring, i wish it were a bit more, erm, normal. So many schoolkid events and one sweepstakes event? Well, I’ll just pray I get tix.
She never ceases to amaze. I think it is so wonderful that she does these events for children. Being an ‘older’ fan, much as I wish I could hear her-I think it is poignant that she does this for children. Speaking and appearing for children, she is giving these kids a gift that could be life changing, and I applaud her for being so dedicated to her youngest fans. I also think she is focusing on cities that may have higher ‘under’priviledged populations, and giving those kids a great gift.
First I plan a vacation last year that now happens to be the week that the movie comes out, Mugglecast is in town, and DH comes out. Now, I find out that my already purchased trip to New York is 10 days too early for Jo’s visit. My luck just can not get any worse. All I can say is that she had best come back again!
Ugh! I live near NYC, but there’s no way I can enter. I’m Jewish, and the Sabbath stars every Friday night. Why does everything always hppen Friday/Saturday? I’ve never been able to attend a release party, never been able to see a movie the day it came out, and now THIS? I feel like screaming…
HAH HAAA!!!! I wish I could see Laura Mallory’s face when she hears about this!!! She’ll do her nut!!!
To all of you Americans that are going to enter, good luck! The people that get to go to these events will surely have a fantastic time! I think that it is wanderful that 3 of these events are for school kids- surley it can only be a great thing that even more children will get into reading because of Jo and her books.
Just read it on her website, clicked here, and it was here already. I wonder how many seconds pass between the two events. :-)
That’s all so very nice, but, again, most of the fans will probably be too awestruck to get any information of value from Jo, and if somebody does ask her a great question in a crowd, it likely won’t be recorded. :-( And journalists will be asking Jo stuff about herself, not about the books and the wizarding world.
Perhaps another Memerson interview in the future? Hopefully…
Fantastic! I hope she comes to the area of the country I am in.
This will more than likely be the last time she will ever do this.
We are going to miss Jo ,our lives are so much richer with her [work ]in them.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so I come on the site and I’m all like YAY!!!!! TOUR IN USA!!!!! and then I have to be like “darn it,” no stop relatively close to me, not even a border state, but I guess we can’t pllease everyone….
Looks like the only chance older readers will get a chance to speak with her is if they win the sweepstakes drawing. Sorry, guys. Cross your fingers for NYC unless your of the press.
Posted by The Azkaban Dieititian on June 14, 2007, 01:51 PM
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This is great news, at least some Americans will get a chance to see her.
To Neil in Scotland—LOL, yes, Laura Mallory will have kittens. :)
To MMK-I am Jewish as well, but for this, I would travel to NYC and see JKR. Can you not make an exception? I don’t think it’s God’s intention that we sacrifice all of the things that matter to us just for the sake of claiming we are observant of traditions. It is not like you will have to eat shellfish and pork or anything! It’s debatable what “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy” could mean-what better way than to go hear literature and have a great discussion with smart people?? :)
"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"...[br]Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.[br]"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard -- you wait, you'll be right famou
DIGG this news
Billywig—yes.
Much as I’m ecstatic that she’s touring, i wish it were a bit more, erm, normal. So many schoolkid events and one sweepstakes event? Well, I’ll just pray I get tix.