The two men who were attempting to sell two stolen copies of HBP were charged yesterday with firearms offenses and handling the stolen books, Reuters reports. (There is also a video report at that link. Thanks to Corey and Mike!) The two men are from Kettering; according to police they are a 37-year-old who is …read more!

After figuring out how to put them back on, it seems our notifications have gone bazooka again and the software is sending as many as 12 e-mails to each person who is subscribed. We’ve shut the e-mails off for the moment, and are working on it, so please hang tight.

The Sunday Star Times of New Zealand announced its HBP competition. Reader Xander sent us the article on the contest, which is open through June 16 to those aged 8 to 16; here are the relevant details: -The winner will arrive at Edinburgh Castle by horse-drawn carriage. -Prefects will guide him/her to the Great Hall, …read more!

Newsday is publishing a blog about Book Expo America, a publishing showcase taking place in New York City right now. The reporter spoke to Arthur Levine, publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books, the imprint under which Scholastic publishes Harry Potter, and though Levine spoke in his usual “saw nothing, know nothing” way, some of what …read more!

WB sent along the Quidditch site photo, so here it is in small, medium and HUGE.

Bloomsbury just sent us a statement regarding the stolen books incident: “Bloomsbury Publishing thanks Northamptonshire Police for their help in recovering two stolen copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but cannot comment further as this matter is now the subject of a police investigation. We hope that nobody will spoil the excitement for …read more!

Abebooks.com has announced today that the hundreds of people named “Harry Potter” in North America can step up for a chance to win $1,000 for themselves and another $1,000 for the library, literacty charity or school of their choice, in celebration of the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. From the press release: …read more!

Our readers tell us that this morning Katie Couric announced that she’d be traveling to Scotland to interview Rowling in two weeks’ time, and said she’s taking questions from fans, which you can enter by going to this page.

Scholastic will officially announce a sweepstakes today to determine which American library will win the first signed American edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the company said in a press release yesterday. Any library in the 50 United States may mail in an entry by June 30. The winner will be notified on …read more!

The German publishers of the Harry Potter books, Carlsen, will be holding a contest to choose the HBP cover on their official site; Sabine Wilharm, illustrator of the first five German Covers will draw two covers fans will vote for their favorite. Thanks to Harry Potter Xperts for the heads up!