Previously we told you that author J.K. Rowling would be donating an item to auction in order to help Book Aid International, a group that helps support literacy in the world’s poorest countries. This item was a handwritten paper from JKR. Today, the Daily Telegraph newspaper has a preview of this item. Reader Tony let …read more!

It’s a historic day here at Leaky; today, our forum, Leaky Lounge, turns one year old! It’s been a whole year since we opened the floodgates to nearly 30,000 of you and more than 500,000 of your posts. It’s been a whole year since that first day, when 2,000 of you signed up, leaving all …read more!

The Polish translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released at midnight tonight in over 1,000 bookstores throughout that country. According to an article on the Polskie Radio website, both hardcover and paperback versions will be available. (*Note: The Leaky Cauldron takes no responsibility for the misspelling of JKR’s name in the …read more!

Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman this week, and following a discussion of the satisfaction of throwing a pie in someone’s face (there is a food fight sequence in Ms. Thompson’s new film, Nanny McPhee), she hit the host in the face with a cream pie! Naturally, this sparked …read more!

Here is a final batch of some nice high res press photos of author J.K. Rowling and her recent trip to Romania with the Children’s High Level Group. Jo signing a copy of Half-Blood Prince Jo prepares to sign an autograph for Romania’s President Traian Basescu at Cotroceni presidential palace in Bucharest Thursday Jan. 26, …read more!

There have been rumors floating online about a possible read- through of the script by the cast in preparation for filming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Leaky can confirm that while those rumors are not entirely correct, rehearsals are now starting for the fifth Harry Potter movie. Filming begins next month.

Lumos.hu has posted screencaps of J.K. Rowling’s brief appearance on Romania’s TVR yesterday. Check ’em out! Thanks, Daisy! UPDATE: Daisy also sent us the video of Jo’s appearance, which you can see at this link. Enjoy! Thanks again Daisy!

Warner Brothers has announced that March 20th will be the date Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD will be released in the United Kingdom. According to DVD Active, the disc is priced at £24.99; you can see the cover art for it here. Purneau from La Gazette du Sorcier also let us know …read more!

Andrey, from the Bulgarian HP site Potter-Mania.com let us know about some great clear photos of the sets used in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film. While we have seen many of these before, these are very nice quality, and you can see them here, or below. Thanks Andrey! Weasley Bedroom 1 …read more!

While in Romania, author J.K. Rowling gave a new interview to the Associated Press, discussing her concerns about child welfare and her involvement in the Children’s High Level Group. Some excerpts from this interview are now online, and during the course of this interview Jo reiterated what prompted her to become active in helping to …read more!