The Leaky Cauldron - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Japanese HBP Ready to Hit Bookstores Next Week

Fri May 12 14:48:30 -0400 2006

The Japanese translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is ready to hit bookstore shelves on May 17. Translator Yuko Matsuoka, dressed in witches' robes, ceremoniously packed the first box of books for shipment at Amazon's Ichikawa distribution center. The book is being sold as a two-volume set for the price of 3,960 Japanese yen.

Harry Potter Author J.K.Rowling Interview with GirlGuiding Scotland

Sat Apr 29 14:26:07 -0400 2006

A few weeks ago, we first told you there would be a new interview due with author J.K. Rowling and GirlGuiding Scotland. Included with a group of over 100 women, this interview with JKR is part of a "campaign by Girlguiding Scotland to inspire young women and girls with examples of talented and inspirational women from Scotland." The piece with Jo is now online, and she answers several question

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Cover Art to Half-Blood Prince Paperback

Tue Apr 25 09:55:57 -0400 2006

Scholastic has released the cover art for the paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which you can see in our galleries, here. Looking very similar to the original, Half-Blood Prince will be released in paperback here in the US on July 25; the UK paperback from Bloomsbury is due a month earlier on June 23.

Video of Jo and Jason Isaacs at the British Book Awards Now Available

Fri Apr 07 16:23:02 -0400 2006

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; the other is of Jo's acceptance speech. They're available in WMV and MP4 (video iPod friendly) form

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J.K. Rowling Updates Site; Talks Phoenix Movie, Memerson

Wed Apr 05 07:25:44 -0400 2006

J.K.Rowling has updated her website today with a new diary entry where she discusses Book Seven, the British Book Awards, and a visit to the set of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Jo writes:

The book's still going well, I'm sure you're pleased to hear, lack of paper notwithstanding. There was a small interruption last week so that I could go down to London for the British Book Awards,

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Bloomsbury Set to Launch Special Harry Potter Box-Set, New Audio Series

Tue Apr 04 20:11:11 -0400 2006

In addition to the earlier news about their profits from the Harry Potter books, UK Publisher Bloomsbury also revealed some upcoming plans for the next five years related to the series. The AP reports that :

"The date for the seventh and final book has not yet been confirmed, but the publisher intends to print a paperback edition 12 months later. It also plans to launch a box-set edition of all

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Bloomsbury Announces Profits

Mon Apr 03 12:34:54 -0400 2006

Bloomsbury, the publisher of the UK Harry Potter books, will be announcing major profits this week, according to Wales.co.uk.

"Bloomsbury has put investors on standby for profits of at least £20m, so debate in the City is focused on whether it can beat that benchmark. Six analysts suggest Bloomsbury will report pre-tax profits of £20.2m tomorrow, compared with £16.4m a year earlier.
The past year

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Newsround Video Interview with J.K. Rowling

Thu Mar 30 11:54:33 -0500 2006

Lizo, from CBBC Newsround was at the British Book Awards last night, and he was able to get an quick interview with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. He asked Jo about the progress on Book Seven, where she said "I've done a bit. But there's nothing more I can tell you. Everything's a giveaway now." In this new video interview, Lizo also asked her about the title for the new book, but alas, Jo d

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Half-Blood Prince Named British Book of the Year

Wed Mar 29 16:21:41 -0500 2006

Update: See pics now in our gallery, with hi-res on the way.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been named "Book of the Year" at the British Book Awards held tonight in London. Jo is quoted by the BBC as saying "I'm delighted that Harry Potter continues to give so much pleasure to adults and children." She was also asked about the progress of Book Seven, and she said:

"I am enjoying writ

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Possible J.K. Rowling Appearance at Book Awards; Confirmed Interview Airing on Channel 4 in Summer

Fri Mar 24 19:37:05 -0500 2006

UPDATE: CBBC Newsround has now confirmed that Jo will in fact be interviewed on the Richard & Judy program; broadcast date is still undecided but probably in either June or July.
Last month we told you that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been nominated for the WHSmith Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. These awards are due to be presented next weekend in London, England. To

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Half-Blood Prince Paperback Now Available for Pre-Order

Thu Mar 23 09:51:25 -0500 2006

The US paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now available for pre-order from retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. As we reported previously, the paperback edition of Book Six from Scholastic will be released on July 25 here in the States. The UK paperback edition of Half-Blood Prince published by Bloomsbury, will be released a month earlier on June 23. If

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Half-Blood Prince Released in Finland

Thu Mar 16 09:04:39 -0500 2006

The Finnish translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released yesterday, and HPfanit has some photos up of the release parties. Ilkka and Milja let us know that there were parties in 30 bookstores which were all celebrating the release of "Harry Potter ja puoliverinen prinssi." You can see the cover of this edition, which has an intial print run of 130,000 copies, here in our G

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HBP Audio Book Nominated for Award

Mon Mar 13 21:29:47 -0500 2006

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been nominated for a 2006 Audie award, in the category, "Childrenâ€™s Titles for Ages 8+." The Audies are the only awards in the U.S devoted exclusively to audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. The winners will be announced on May 19 at a gala at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Congratulations to Listening Library and Jim Dale!

Forbes Again Names Jo Rowling Billionairess

Sat Mar 11 17:20:07 -0500 2006

Though J.K. Rowling said to Katie Couric this July that she is no such thing, magazine Forbes has again place Jo Rowling on its list of the World's Richest People, as a billionaire (which is more likely to be true in dollars than pounds). The short article says that 60 million Harry Potter books sold worldwide last year, and that a source says that book seven will be out in 2007, which we remin

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Scholastic Harry Potter "Wednesdays" Sweepstakes Now Open

Wed Mar 01 12:07:49 -0500 2006

Scholastic has now opened their Harry Potter" Wednesdays" Sweepstakes, which offers you the chance to be a lucky winner of a special Harry Potter Ipod and all six of the Harry Potter audiobooks. For the next six Wednesdays ,if you go to to this link at Scholastic.com/Harry Potter and answer the opinion poll, you can download and print out your entry form that you will need in order to win. The

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