Happy Birthday to Helena Bonham Carter, who just joined the cast of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the role of Bellatrix Lestrange! Thanks, netmannmick!

Scholastic.com has updated their Harry Potter website with new downloads for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which include wallpaper and a printable poster. Also the winners for the contest leading up to the release of HBP in paperback are now on the site. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released …read more!

Back in March, we first told you that author J.K. Rowling would be attending a special party being held on June 25 in honor of the Queen’s 80th birthday, and now the official website for the event has been launched. The Children’s Party at the Palace website contains new information about the schedule of the …read more!

Scientists are working on a way to make Harry’s Invisibility Cloak a reality for all of us. CNN is reporting that researchers in England and the US are developing a blue print for making a cloak like the one Harry inherited from James, and have issued a call for help with obtaining the materials they …read more!

There has been a major casting change for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The role of Bellatrix Lestrange has been recast and Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Bucket, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will now play the role of the Death Eater who causes such havoc at the Ministry of Magic. Previously we …read more!

Wire reports are now online of an interview with Liz Calder, Director of publishing at Bloomsbury, where she comments on JKR and the possibily of Book Seven coming next year. She does NOT say that a 2007 release is certain, but that she “hopes,” and thinks it is “likely.” J.K. Rowling has not yet said …read more!

Wall Street is already anticipating the release of Book Seven as stocks of Scholastic rose today after a positive review of the company. The AP reports that Stifel Nicolaus reviewed several book publishers, and Scholastic stocks were rated as “buy,” as they eye the future for the publishers of the Harry Potter books. Quotage: “Crum …read more!

We told you about the contest, sponsored by Warner Bros. France, to win a visit to the set of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and meet the cast and crew of the film. The same prize is being offered on the Warner Bros. Italy website. Good luck to contestants! Thanks to Mrs. …read more!

Actor Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) is now set to star in a film version of C.P. Taylor’s award winning play “Good.” Coming Soon now reports that actor Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn, Lord of the Rings) will also join the cast of this new movie, due to start filming in Potsdam and Berlin later this year. Gemma …read more!

Warner Brothers France has now launched a contest to win a set visit to the filming of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Open to residents of France and Corsica, winners will receive a four day, three night trip to London August 1- 4 to meet the cast and crew of the new …read more!