Chinese fans will get a nice surprise – in an attempt to circumvent further illegal translations of Order of the Phoenix, China will release the book on Sunday, more than ten days ahead of the scheduled release date.

The writer who translated the first Harry Potter novel into Welsh discusses the difficulty in doing so, as well as her hope that she’ll be picked to translate others in the series. Thanks to Narcissa for the link!

It may not sound like it has much to do with Harry Potter, but… John Ritter, Gryffindor, (shown there at the premiere of Chamber of Secrets) died of a heart ailment overnight. A sad farewell to a fellow fan, from Team TLC.

The Village Voice has a political parody of Harry Potter entitled, Hillary Potter and the Senate Chamber of Secrets. Thanks, Livia!

Warner Brothers is now offering fans of their Harry Potter movie series a chance to get updates via computer.

The train used in the Harry Potter films to depict the Hogwart’s Express was vandalized according to the Daily Record.

The Syracuse Post Standard has an article on Tom Felton’s participation in the St. Lawrence International Junior Carp Tournament.

The BBC tells us that while more than 100 people emailed the Nobel Prize Committee, no one wrote an actual letter. We also learn that James Downey, the U.S. author behind the drive to have J.K. Rowling nominated for the prize, was also behind a project to get people around the world to point laser …read more!

Commentary on the series from an English major and teacher: Adult readers empathize with Harry as they remember all too well not being invited into conversations even though they had much to offer. Olivia however, as an 11-year-old Harry Potter fan, adds another perspective. “Harry throws way too many tantrums and the book is too …read more!

According to a report by the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers took the #1 spot in DVD sales for January-June 2003 all because of a certain boy wizard.