Magic Withdrawl

Since the last installment in the Harry Potter Series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in July 2007, I've been dying for more Harry. The movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment in the series, was released 10 days before the final book, so it's been over a year since I've seen anything new. And, I've got to tell you, it hurts; and the 800 word prequel written and sold for charity just isn't cutting it. I've spent the last 8 years of my life reading and watching as this epic adventure unfolded. The series became an unstoppable force, releasing something new, either a book or movie, every year since 1997. I know that there are two more movies to come, but when damn it! When?

Muggles Rejoice!

This week was a huge week for Harry Potter fans like me. On Wednesday, the debut of the trailer for the sixth installment in Harry Potter movie series, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. The movie will be released on November 21st. Tee-hee!

As if this wasn't good enough, even bigger news hit the airwaves on Thursday. A new book, entitled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, will be released on December 4th, 2008. The book, which is used as a plot device in the last Harry Potter novel, is described as a popular collection of children's fairy tales in the wizard world.

Originally, only seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard have been produced, all handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling. Six copies were given as gifts to the people who were most involved with the Harry Potter series, and the seventh copy to sell at auction in order to raise funds for The Children's Voice charity campaign. Only expect to sell for about $100,000, the book sold to Amazon.com, Inc. for just under 4 million dollars. The book will now be published with all of the proceeds going to the Children's High Level Group.

There was understandable disappointment among Harry Potter fans when only one copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was offered to the public last December. I am therefore delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon (who bought the handwritten copy at auction) - and with the blessing of the wonderful people who own the other six original books - The Tales of Beedle the Bard will now be widely available to all Harry Potter fans.

Royalties will be donated to the Children's High Level Group, to benefit institutionalized children in desperate need of a voice. The new edition will include the Tales themselves, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, and with illustrations by me, but also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters' Archive.

One can only hope that I can wait until November.