Empire Online and others are reporting today that British actress Jessica Stevenson (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Shaun of the Dead) has been cast in the role of Mafalda Hopkirk, from the Improper Use of Magic Office, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We are trying to verify this with WB, and will update …read more!

The live, official Harry Potter podcasts that Cheryl Klein of Scholastic, Emerson Spartz (of MuggleNet) and I (for Leaky!) did in July are now all available for download on iTunes right here. We met nearly 1,000 of you at these events, starting at Anderson’s in Naperville, IL, and going to Barnes and Noble in Las …read more!

WB just confirmed that the release date of the Harry Potter of the Order of the Phoenix film, formerly set for Sept. 6 in Australia, has been moved up to July 12 there – even before it hits the US and UK. Hooray for our Aussie friends!

The 52nd show of (the now-Podcast Award winning!) PotterCast, is now up! But first – if you haven’t yet, go over to LeakyMug.com to see the video of our live NYC show! In this PotterCast, Matt Lewis is back for the second of this three parts and he talks about his hair, his fat suit, …read more!

We’ve made a significant update to our gallery’s Harry Potter book covers (the last time we did so being when all the images in there were part of the old HP Galleries…), adding covers for five different countries and over 150 new files, bringing the total to 47 countries’ worth and 370 images and making …read more!

Our partners as the Harry Potter Lexicon has a new blog on its What’s New page, allowing you to leave comments and subscribe to its new RSS Check out all the new stuff here! There’s more coming there soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Scribbulus, Leaky’s essay project, has added two more essays to its “If You Like Harry Potter” section, where authors review other works that may interest a Harry Potter fan. Chocolate Frog Card reviews “Maybe a Miracle” and HermyG13 reviews Superman Returns, here on our issues page. Enjoy, and stay tuned for further updates as the …read more!

HarryLatino has confirmed the date for the release of Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix (OotP) in Spain for July 20, 2007, a week after it hits theaters in the US. WB Argentina also recently confirmed July 12 for their release, the site says. Thanks Pablo!

Entertainment site UGO.com has set up a “Versus” feature in which several known fictional teens are competing for class president; you can see Hermione’s campaign video here. Her first matchup is with Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks – so not a match for our favorite witch. Vote for her by clicking on “Vote for this …read more!

Actress Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) turns 15 today! Happy Birthday from all of us at Leaky!