Thanks Michael, for this rundown of the pics in the 2003 HP Calendar (which he won, and which is not yet available in stores!): Cover- Doby Telling Harry to not go back to Hogwarts. Inside Front Cover- A picture of Hogwarts. January-Gilderoy Lochart and Harry getting their picture taken at Flourish and Blott’s. February- Ron …read more!

Japan Today reports that a Chinese student was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of selling pirated DVDs of the hit movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. From the spookiness of Signs to the old-fashioned wizardry of The Lord of the Rings, the long-lasting trend is clear. Comedy and action still draw crowds, but fantasy …read more!

Characters from three of the all-time highest grossing movies will join the star ranks of the Hollywood [California] Wax Museum. Starting July 31, Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Captain Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg), along with three primate co-stars from Planet of the Apes, will appear as if they stepped off the movie screen casting their spells, …read more!

Congratulations to Fiction Alley, TLC editor Heidi Tandy’s uber-fanfic site, on celebrating its year anniversary today. I finally (after much bashing on the head by Heidi 🙂 signed up over there and whoo…I’ve never seen such a voluminous collection and expansive community. But the cutest thing about it has to be the email I received …read more!

Students at Governor Baxter School for the Deaf turned to “Harry Potter” this week to improve their literacy skills – even as they search for the sorcerer’s stone. The Baxter School became Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and students were divided into Gryffindors, Slytherin, Raven Claw and Hufflepuff to learn about the fictional boy …read more!

Salon Magazine, long a fan of the books, notes the importance of today in its Literary History Today column.

From the Dallas Morning News comes this article wondering about the lack of parents in children’s movies, including the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry Potter’s magic is showing no signs of waning, according to the annual list of the most popular books read in Australia. The Daily Record has posted quite a …read more!

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter and JK Rowling! (since it’s already July 31 in the UK.)

Thanks to our readers in Australia who sent us word of a very special birthday party for a thirteen year old. In related news, my son’s just getting a cake for his Harry Potter themed birthday party this week.

To clarify on the post below: R/H and H/G mean Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny – in other words, if you care about who Ron and Harry and Hermione and Ginny end up dating during and after Hogwarts, those are the “ships” the SQ supports. It’s not exclusive to those and not all (not nearly all, actually) …read more!