New Mexico church burns Harry Potter books (from the BBC). Ananova reports that Quidditch has been turned into a real game by a Moscow children’s club. The National Post reports that the new husband of J. K. Rowling has yet to decide whether to go back to work. According to the New York Times, the …read more!

Miriam Margolyes (who will be portraying Professor Sprout in Chamber of Secrets) has been honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE).

From the Sunday Mail: Two faces that shaped 2001: J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe. J.K. Rowling — From struggling single mum to one of the world’s most famous – and richest – authors, it’s been quite a year for Edinburgh-based Joanne Kathleen Rowling. The movie version of her first book, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s …read more!

Spell was broken before film began: Kids ready for Harry Potter got R-rated flub (from the Seattle Times). Readers Allison and Lila let us know that “Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter,” a one-hour documentary special telling the story of the real-life sources for the best-selling “Harry Potter” books, will be rebroadcast in the …read more!

Congratulations are due! Ananova reports that JK Rowling and her boyfriend were married on 26 December. (Thanks to reader Les for the link.)

It looks like the UK Harry Potter site has gotten their hands on a page from the Chamber of Secrets script! (Thanks to The Snitch for the link.)

Brooms and airplanes are magic at EAA Kids Days (from the Northwestern). Harry Potter teaches kids about being a good person, even faced with bad circumstances (from MySanAntonio). Publisher’s Weekly reports that Scholastic likely to publish Harry 5.

MuggleNet has posted a transcript to the special, “J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and Me,” which aired yesterday on BBC1.

Harry’s on God’s side; commentary from the National Post. Interesting article from The Times (UK), which says that children who resemble Harry Potter are more likely to be identified as gifted than bright pupils who do not fit the typical academic image.

CNN reports that a Harry Potter “hateline” has been set up in Austria. A Monmouthshire school teacher is believed to be the model for the “evil” Professor Snape in the Harry Potter books (from the BCC News). It has been mentioned that Chris Columbus is playing phone tag with Ewan McGregor’s agent, trying to pin …read more!