Cincinatti’s Enquirer reports on the secrecy surrounding the movement of copies of HBP from Scholastic to places like Amazon, that city’s library system, and Mary GrandPré’s workspace. “We treat the (Harry Potter) books completely separate from other inventory,” says Kristin Mariani, head of public relations. “There is a special area dedicated to nothing but processing …read more!

All right! Sorry for the delay guys, it’s a busy time both here and on MuggleNet – but we are finally ready to present you with the top 10 questions chosen from our “Ask Jo” contest. Vote here! At the Leaky Lounge we had more than 1,500 posts and 4,100 questions submitted before deadline. I …read more!

The July issue of Wired includes an article about fanfiction. It traces the history, back into the Star Trek days, notes that it’s a common activity of burgeoning writers, and comments on the various fics about the motorcycle of Sirius Black, who the reporter deems “a minor character in the Harry Potter saga”. [Fanfiction’s] popularity …read more!

Scholastic has announced the 10 winnners of its “Why I Love Reading Harry Potter!” essay contest. Chosen out of over 8,000 entries, these 10 kids have won a trip to London. They will all depart New York City on the midnight flight on American Airlines. Upon boarding they will be handed a free copy of …read more!

A worker from Borders wrote in to tell us they have recieved their HBPs, and are very excited about it! If you want to see pics of the boxes – they were quickly locked up in a manager’s office – click here. The books will only be moved at 11:50 p.m. on the 15th, and …read more!

HPNews.org has posted the cover of an HP coloring book, featuring a pic of Harry (not new), a new one of Hermione, a new one of Ron at the Yule Ball, and the Dark Mark looming in the background. See it here! Thanks to Hermy!

Chauncey Oldridge, 1342-1379, dragon-pox victim!

Books of Wonder in New York City has announced that Mary GrandPré will be appearing at their HBP launch party on July 15. Everyone purchasing their book at Books of Wonder that night will get a free gift, will be entered in a spectacular drawing to win a copy of PoA signed by J.K. Rowling …read more!

MSNBC wants to know if you’re the biggest HP fan. If you’re under 13 you can enter their contest, to vie for the title of Harry Potter Total Trivia Tournament Champion. The contest for this title will take place on July 14 in NYC (winners will be brought to NYC for it).

The New York Times has an article today about one mom’s quest to find the best way to order HPB online: “But my daughters had other concerns. When, exactly, would the book be delivered if we ordered it online? How many precious hours beyond midnight would be squandered in wait? Was delivery on the release …read more!