The Leaky Cauldron - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

A & E and ITV Specials Due on Harry Potter

Thu Jun 28 02:06:00 -0400 2007

With the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows rapidly approaching, there are several television specials about the world of our favorite wizard due in the coming days.

First, cable station A&E is set to broadcast a new special called “The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter” that will air July 8 at 10pm. Featuring Floo partner and HP Lexico

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Bloomsbury Updates with New "Deathly Hallows" Screensavers

Thu May 24 16:32:09 -0400 2007

Bloomsbury has updated their Harry Potter website with screensavers now featuring the covers to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Children's edition screen saver features that mysterious symbol found on the spine of the jacket, then the castle and grounds from the back cover. The Adult cover screen saver starts out with the slogan "Seven Books One Story" then shows the various covers to

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Contest Information to Hear JKR Read from "Deathly Hallows" Plus New HP Site from Bloomsbury

Wed May 23 07:43:33 -0400 2007

As a follow up to the big news that author J.K. Rowling will be reading from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the release of the novel midnight July 21 at the Natural History Museum in London, England, UK publishers Bloomsbury US publishers Scholastic, and UPDATE Canadian publishers Raincoast have now released more information on how fans can win a chance to hear Jo read and meet her as

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New Scholastic Box Set of All Seven Harry Potter Novels

Wed May 09 21:49:25 -0400 2007

The first image of a special box set due from Scholastic containing all seven Harry Potter novels is now online. This set, which you can see here in our galleries, includes a nice case or trunk with the Harry Potter logo on it, as well as what seems to be printed hardback copies of all seven of the books, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. While we do not know if this is the actual

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J.K. Rowling Updates Site with New Info on Draco, More

Tue May 08 07:58:26 -0400 2007

It would seem this fine spring day will bring some news from J.K.Rowling, as she has now updated her F.A.Q section with a bit about young Mr. Malfoy, his Patronus, confirmation about the exact date of birth for Lord Voldemort, and interestingly, we learn that Myrtle was indeed a Ravenclaw and Tonks is a proud member of the House of Hufflepuff!
Update: Andy from HarryPotterFanZone.com let us know

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Pre-Order "Deathly Hallows" Audio Book,Excerpts Online from First Six Books

Tue Mar 27 10:38:50 -0400 2007

Over the years we at TLC have received many questions about the audio books for the Harry Potter series, especially about the availability of one for this last book. In the wake of yesterday's announcement, Random House and Listening Library have now updated their website for these audio books, and you can now pre-order the CD or audio cassette of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Also, if y

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Severus Snape and a Fandom Enthralled

Wed Mar 21 09:18:43 -0400 2007

Severus Snape. The mention of his very name immediately gets attention and never fails to conjure up a strong reaction among Harry Potter fans, especially given the events in Half-Blood Prince. The Baltimore Sun has a new article online featuring the nefarious Potionsmaster and how this character has become such a popular and widely discussed figure in the Harry Potter world.

"Severus Snape" on

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12 Million First Print Copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Due from Scholastic

Wed Mar 14 09:13:30 -0400 2007

In addition to all the big news this morning about the launch of the There Will Soon Be 7 countdown campaign, Scholastic is set to print a whopping 12 million first print copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As Reuters reminds us, this will break the previous record when Scholastic, the U.S. publishers of the Harry Potter series, printed 10.8 million first run copies of Harry Potter

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Sketch from "Goblet of Fire" on Auction for Charity

Fri Mar 09 09:24:10 -0500 2007

A sketch by Harry Potter illustrator Mary GrandPre is one of two the artist donated for auction to benefit a center that helps those with cancer. A sketch made for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is up for auction tonight in Sarasota, Florida, and you can see this image here. The Herald Tribune reports:

"...the Potter sketch, a pencil-on-paper work measuring 20 inches by 16 1/2 inches. It's

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Scholastic Updates with New "Deathly Hallows" Release Date Poster

Mon Feb 12 09:18:25 -0500 2007

Scholastic, the US publishers of the Harry Potter novels, has updated their site with a new "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" poster that you can download and print out at home. The poster features the current black and white placeholder art for the book, with the title and release date on it, as well as color photos of the previous six novels. To print (pdf) click here.
As a reminder of wh

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"Half-Blood Prince" Most Borrowed Book In Scotland

Sat Feb 10 12:06:26 -0500 2007

Well the writer from the Herald might disapprove, but the Harry Potter books are indeed quite popular in her country, as The Scotsman reports that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the most borrowed book in Scotland last year, according to the Public Lending Right office, which tracks loan data." Others on the list of top borrowed books include those from Scottish crime writers Ian Ra

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Translating Harry

Sat Jan 27 11:47:37 -0500 2007

The Guardian has a new article online about the unique art and hard work involved in translating the Harry Potter novels. While facing deadlines and a whole host of other obstacles, translators often have to face one primary hurtle first: "finding the balance between literal fidelity and the equivalence that makes for fidelity of reading experience. When Uncle Vernon hums "Tiptoe Through the Tu

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I Shall Not Tell Lies about Reading Harry Potter

Thu Jan 25 09:49:19 -0500 2007

Apparently residents in the UK haven't been listening to Professor Umbridge when it comes to lying, as a new survey reveals up to a third of British adults have fibbed about reading some well known novels including Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. According to a new survey conducted by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council "33 per cent of adults have confessed to reading challeng

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Audio Interview with Mary GrandPre

Sun Jan 14 18:10:31 -0500 2007

A podcast featuring a recent interview with US Harry Potter illustrator Mary GrandPre has now surfaced online. While this interview contains no new information about "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (she says she doesn't know anything about it yet) the artist does say she would one day like to illustrate Harry's parents, and maybe one day paint more characters in color such as Trelawney,

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Sales of HBP Paperbacks Equal OotP

Fri Jan 12 14:01:28 -0500 2007

USA Today has an article online about the sales of books in 2006, and mentions a curious fact about the Harry Potter novels. While the hardcover of Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince was the number one bestseller for 2005, the list for 2006 sees the paperback edition of HBP ranked at number 21. Apparently, this mirrors sales for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well; the hardcover e

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