It's Official: Jo Rowling is 'Cool'

From the London Times:
The Cool Brandleaders Council panel of experts, tasked with identifying all things hip, has noted that author Jo Rowling is 2004's Coolest Author.

Other people, places, and things as cool as Jo?

Coolest fashion brands
1. Diesel
2. Agent Provocateur
3. Chanel
4. Puma
5. Topshop

Coolest motors
1.Continued...

Declare Yourself: Register to Vote

As the American readers of this site no doubt know, on November 2 the country will go to the polls to decide who is elected president of the United States for the next four years. We are taking a rare aberrance from our HP-related focus to encourage our eligible readers to register to vote and then make the tripContinued...

Interview with Japanese Potter Translator

Japan's English magazine Metropolis has an interview with Yuko Matsuoka, the Japanese translator of the Potter series.
Order of the Phoenix went on sale in Japan earlier this month.

Thanks to Wizard News for the link!

Another Harry Potter Comic Mention

Several TLC readers let us know that Harry Potter was the subject of a recent Pardon My Planet.
Thanks to everyone who emailed, and especially Katie for the link.

ADMIN: Graphics Page Link

Several TLC readers have asked why they aren't seeing updates on our full graphics page. That page is our default, and can be viewed at
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org.
Of course, if you prefer the low-graphics version with the Hogwarts house color schemes, that's available as well at
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/indextext.htmlContinued...

Special Miniature Book by J.K. Rowling up for Charity Auction

In a effort to raise money for the homeless, author J.K. Rowling has donated a special original miniature book for auction. Charity organization 999club will hold the reception and auction on November 1st at Sotheby's in London, England.
From the information that we received, thisContinued...

Potter Filming Closes Down Trains

The Sunday Mail reports that weekend trippers had to go by bus when ScotRail closed down the last train from Mallaig to Fort William for filming of Goblet of Fire. Riders were given rail vouchers and Harry Potter memorabilia in exchange for the inconvenience.
Thanks to B. and Wizard News for the link!

Mary GrandPre

The Star Tribune has an article about American edition Potter artist Mary GrandPre that includes a draft of an earlier Harry illustration.
Grandpre's work is being featured at a show at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Thanks to Veritaserum for the link!

Banned Books Week: Join TLC in the Fight For Free Speech

"Oh, Harry, don't you see?" Hermione breathed. "If [Professor Umbridge] could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!" -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. RowlingContinued...

Potter Mention in Stephen King's Latest

Loads of TLC readers have informed us that Mr. King, who has repeatedly praised the Potter series, has (once again) referenced Harry in his recent book, The Dark Tower (book 7) (click to read):
"Check out the crate-lid," Jake said when they joined her.
Susannah had set it aside; Jake picked it upContinued...

Radcliffe Reaps Second Relly Running

Dan Radcliffe won the Best Junior Achiever award on Regis and Kelly for the second year in a row today. The young actor accepted from the set, and reported that he was sorry he couldn't be in New York for the awards because "I'm actually about to fight a dragon."
Update: There are already screencapsContinued...

Concert Review: Harry and the Potters

TLC reader Lauren Goodnight, a staff reviewer for AnimeOnDVD.com, attended a performance of the band Harry and the Potters in August and very kindly wrote in with a review and some great pics. Quotage:

"There is no greater feeling within the heart of a musician or music lover than when rock 'n'Continued...

The Onion Interviews Stephen Fry

The Onion's "AV Club" interviewed Stephen Fry a few weeks ago; he talks a bit about the Harry Potter books, reading, writing and acting. The reporter put a few HP-specific outtakes on her LiveJournal as well, including Fry's comments about how he became the UK voice for the audiobooks, and whetherContinued...

Hyphen Update: Half-Blood Prince Across the Board (and Pond)

As a followup to our notice that, in contrast to the way the title's been used on JKRowling.com, there will be a hyphen in the American edition of HBP, we've just confirmed it will also be in place in the British edition. The book will be Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceContinued...

2005 PoA Calendar Scans

Emma-Watson.net has scans of the UK 2005 Prisoner of Azkaban calendar.
While there, scroll down to view a collection of nice high res photos from the Wimbledon premiere, which Emma Watson attended.