Scholastic, the American publishers of Harry Potter, announced this morning, in a release sent to TLC, that the American edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will come out in paperback on July 25, 2006. This 2 million-book print run will bring the total number of all six Harry Potter books in print in …read more!

Three Harry Potter cast members have been nominated for Laurence Olivier Awards, the most prestigious theater awards in the U.K. Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley) received a nomination for Best Actor in a Play for Heroes, which was also nominated for Best Play. David Bradley (Argus Filch) was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role …read more!

Chris Chang has been up to it again: you can now have a Harry Potter News Widget on your Windows or Mac machine (please note you will need the latest version of Konfabulator/Yahoo Widget software, whether on Mac or Windows. The Dashboard version is still available here). You’ve been asking for this for ages, so …read more!

PotterCast #22 is now available for download! In this show: -The first part of our interview with Arthur Levine, editor of the American Editions of the Harry Potter books. We set the record straight (finally!) on how Harry Potter crossed the shore to America, why Scholastic went with “Sorcerer’s,” and more. -We announce a brand …read more!

Box Office Mojo reports that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has entered the list of Top 10 Worldwide Grossers of All Time, in the tenth spot with $867.2M. CoS is in eighth place with $876.7M and SS/PS is in third with $976.5. PoA is not in the top ten, but appears on the …read more!

Newsround has a new update on the audition process for the role of Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The report says that after Saturdays open call where some 15,000 girls auditioned, the filmmakers have narrowed the field down to 400 girls in the next step to casting the part …read more!

Reuters has posted a video clip of the queue of girls waiting to be seen for Luna Lovegood auditions in London on Saturday. (The Leaky Cauldron takes NO responsibility for the reporter’s mistaken comment about Daniel Radcliffe!) Thanks, Jyothi!

Actor Ralph Fiennes just appeared on Bravo’s program “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” where he discussed several of the noteworthy roles in his film and stage career. He spoke briefly about playing Lord Voldemort, and gave details about how the look of the character was created, in a process he called “very inclusive,” involving director “Mike …read more!

Earlier this week, we told you that J.K. Rowling was expected to attend a dinner on January 25 in Bucharest, as part of the charity event “Romania for Europe’s children.” Today’s Bucharest Daily News confirms that our favorite author, who became a member of the organization just a week ago, will be the guest of …read more!

In today’s New York Times magazine, there is a gorgeous Style spread featuring Ralph Fiennes. In the accompanying article, Mr. Fiennes discusses establishing character without a single word, through the character’s clothing and appearance. Here’s a snippet of the Voldemort bit: “He appears near the end of the film and, despite immense expectations, is completely …read more!