We told you when the Drama Desk nominations were announced. The Awards were presented yesterday at Lincoln Center in New York, and the winners included Potter audiobook narrator Jim Dale, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, for “The Threepenny Opera;” Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon), Outstanding Actor in a Play; and Frances de la Tour (Madame …read more!

PotterCast #40 is out and it’s a special one: In this show: -Lordy lordy, we’re 40! (Billionaires, send your corvettes to the PO Box!) -A celebratory highlight reel of the previous 39 PotterCasts, made for us by the lovely Kyrane (it’s at the END, not in the beginning like we originally said) -In Canon Conundrums …read more!

Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) attended a private viewing of the 84th Chelsea Flower Show today, and unveiled a pink rose to kick off the “Plant Pink” campaign for Breast Cancer Care. As she presented the flower, Ms. Thompson said, “It seems to me there are more and more women getting this disease. Of course, since …read more!

A recently discovered species of dinosaurs will bear a name given in honor of the Harry Potter novels. Approved by J.K. Rowling, “Dracorex Hogwartsia” is being unveiled this morning at The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis. This new species was discovered at the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota, and Paleontologists spent two years cleaning and …read more!

When we last updated you on Rupert Grint’s latest movie, Driving Lessons, the film had not been picked up for distribution in North America. Now, comingsoon.net reports that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired those rights. No distribution date has yet been announced, but we’ll keep you posted!

The WOMBAT review center at the LeakyLounge is now open! Get your wits about you, and prepare for the next pop quiz from JKRowling.com!

At an awards ceremony last night, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince became the very first entry into the brand new Audio Book Hall of Fame. Narrated by Jim Dale, this honor for the HBP audio book was presented at the Audie Awards at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Half-Blood Prince had also …read more!

The New York Times reports that a Book Industry Study Group report, being released today, found that 2005 book sales were up by 5.9% at $34.6 billion (USD). The “strongest growth niches” were juvenile books, religious books and elementary and high school textbooks. “[T]he children’s book segment was driven largely by the publication last year …read more!

Last fall we reported that Arthur Weasley, well known collector of Muggle artifacts, had his beloved Ford Anglia car stolen from a film studio lot. This crime has gone unresolved until now, as the enchanted vehicle has mysteriously turned up outside a magical fortress, or in Muggle terminology, Carn Brea Castle. The Scotsman reports that …read more!

PotterCast.com, the Web site for our podcast, has gotten, once again, a huge facelift. Go poke around and have fun, but first here’s the rundown of what you can find in this new version: Flash player: Listen to PotterCast right on the site, with a customized streaming audio Flash player that is small enough to …read more!