And the baby's name is...

Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, as announced on jkrowling.com this morning. JKR's post makes it sound like she came a few days early, and she noted that she hopes to make a few other updates on the site between baby feeds and sleeping over the next few days.
Welcome to the world, baby Mackenzie!

Happy Birthday Severus Snape

JKRowling.com tells us that Jan. 9 is Prof. Severus Snape's birthday!

New Wizard of the Month on JKRowling.com, News and Rumors Blank

Thanks to all who emailed! (We were partying for New Year's and not at our computers.) The new wizard of the month at JKRowling.com is:

Derwent Shimpling
(1912 - present) Ate an entire Venemous Tentacula for a bet and survived, though is still purple.

2004: The Year in HP: A Leaky Cauldron Review

Happy New Year everyone! Because 2005 is going to be such a big year for Harry
Potter fans, we thought now was a good time to look back at 2004, which
wasn't too shabby either where we're concerned. Editor Sue scoured our archives
and found all our 2004 highlights, so we hope you enjoy this littleContinued...

The Giant Blue Candy and the Closed Door on JKR.com

There's a big blue piece of candy illustration in the place of JKR's "Extra Stuff" section on JKRowling.com. We didn't publish this as news at first because, well, a picture of a blue piece of candy isn't news. It's the picture (enlarged) of the piece of candy thatContinued...

Happy Birthday TLC Poster Delleve, from Jo

To those of you who were wondering in our comments section on Monday night (while everyone was going mad putting the puzzle together in real-time) whether Jo was sitting there cackling at us figuring all this out, here's your answer from the lady herself:

So now you know! Harry Potter and the Half-BloodContinued...

Updates to News and Rumors on JKRowling.com; HBP to have "fewer" than 38 chapters

She's updated the NEWS section of her website with a note about the July 16, 2005 release of HBP; there's a PS, too:

P.S. Anyone interested in the 'hidden meaning' of the riddles and questions you had to answer before getting the message behind the doorContinued...

HBP Release Date to be Announced in 24 Hours

All right, we couldn't wait for you all to break into JKR's study.
Jo Rowling has announced on her site that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is FINISHED, and we should hear a release date from her publishers in the next 24 hours. Check back here for updates.

Here's what JKR says aboutContinued...

JKRowling.com: Door Open - A VERY Happy Christmas, Everyone!

The door is open again on JKRowling.com. Click below to find out what you have to do to open it, and more about what's inside. Thanks speedy Emily!
There is an EXCELLENT message waiting inside but we're not putting it on the main page for a few more hours yet!
Click the Christmas treeContinued...

The Sun: "Will it be a Harry Christmas?"

UK tabloid The Sun has picked up on yesterday's article regarding the slight change to JKRowling.com and what it might mean for the publication of book six, even quoting TLC reader "Sky" in the piece. Thanks everyone who emailed!

Tweak to JKRowling.com Welcome Page: Book Six On the Way?

Extremely perceptive reader Potterfan has notified us that the "Welcome" note on JKRowling.com's front page has changed slightly in the past day from this:

This is where I can tell you the truth about rumours or news stories, where I can share the extra information I haven'tContinued...

JKR.com: Happy Birthday, Charlie Weasley!

JKRowling.com says today (December 12 already in England) is Charlie Weasley's birthday!

JKRowling.com: "No News is Good News" (Except there's lots of news)

Our favorite author has updated her site, explaining why "No News is Good News":

I have nothing noteworthy to report, because I have been spending nearly all my time sitting in front of my computer writing, re-writing and taking the occasional break to bang my head off theContinued...

JKR Wins Domain Name Tussle

J.K.Rowling has won a legal battle in a typosquatting claim, and will have the domains "kjkrowling.com" and "www-jkrowling.com," currently registered to an individual in Uruguay, transferred to her. A typosquatter purposefully incorporates mispellings and common typos into domain names, to harvestContinued...

Happy Birthday Hagrid!

Blimey! J.K.Rowling has updated her site to say that today(Dec 6th already in the UK) is Hagrid's Birthday! Happy Birthday to a giant of fellow! Cheers!