Alan Pardew, manager of the West Ham United Football Club says that the Harry Potter series, especially Prisoner of Azkaban has been a strong influence on him and on his team’s success this season. “‘I surround myself with strong characters, winners and people who I like to think have good, sensible morals. ‘I include all …read more!

Michael Gambon is currently performing the title role in Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe at Dublin’s Gate Theatre. The play is the stage premiere of a work originally written by Beckett for television in 1965, in which a middle aged man listens intently to the voice of an unseen woman, reacting powerfully to her words but …read more!

Since J.K. Rowling published her rant on our society’s definition of “thin”, newspapers, magazines and Web sites all over the world have picked up on the story. At BlogCritics.org, Dawn Olsen says, “At least J.K. Rowling is using her fame and popularity to try to turn the tide and for that, she gets some serious …read more!

The Scotsman reports that after her latest diary entry lamenting the lack of normal, lined writing paper in Edinburgh, shops have assured that they are fully stocked in lined paper, ready for Rowling to arrive in need of some. “Meanwhile, at the Bruntsfield Post Office, also five minutes or so from the writer’s home, Tahir …read more!

(We’re extending past 11 a bit…) So that you all don’t have to go crazy while waiting to get through on the PotterCast call-in, we’ve opened up our forum’s text chat (you must be a member of the forum to get into it); it’s right here. (If you aren’t yet a member of our forum, …read more!

In February, we quietly introduced this feature on our book seven page, but now it’s grown so much that it’s on its own page and will soon be better categorized and organized: What’s Left?, our master list of the remaining questions of Harry Potter. We’re seeking all your input. With only one book to go, …read more!

We’re done for now guys; there’s no call count but there are 200 new voicemails and several people who tried to call several hundred times, and all our computers just about blew up. Gah! Can’t even imagine what will happen tonight when Chris is on. If you get through, please don’t call again – let …read more!

Make sure you have your student ID number in hand, and head over to JKRowling.com for your W.O.M.B.A.T. results! Be sure to tell us what you got in the comments – I feel a bit like Harry with the Potions exam in saying I got an E (that blind picking of answers sure paid off…) …read more!

Thanks to Andy from our forums, we now have two videos for you of Jo Rowling at the “Nibbies,” the British Book Awards, where Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won book of the year; one is a montage that shows and talks about her often and also features Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy; …read more!

Hey folks; we’re having our second call-in show for PotterCast this Saturday, April 8, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. That means 6p.m. in the uck (U.K. for those not familiar with Noeisms). If you’ve got a Potter question or comment you’re dying to discuss, pet theory, singing telegram, or if you just want …read more!