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Category: Harry Potter
JK Rowling Wins Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award
by Dan
Harry Potter + News / October 20, 2010
J.K. Rowling has become the very first winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize, awarded to authors whose stories can be compared to the work of the Danish fairy tale writer.
Rowling accepted the 500,000 kroner ($95,558 CAD) award at a ceremony in Odense, Denmark, the birthplace of Anderson, saying that she was "humbled and deeply honoured" to receive the prize. "Hans Christian Andersen is a writer I revere, because his work was of that rare order that seems to transcend authorship."
(via The Guardian)
You Never Know
by Dan
Harry Potter + Kids / October 04, 2010
As we mentioned last week, superstar author Joanne "Jo" Rowling (AKA J.K. Rowling) sat down with Oprah at a hotel in Edinburgh (the same hotel where she finished writing the Harry Potter series!) to talk about her life and, of course, you know who.
The interviewed aired on Friday, and inevitably, the question on everyone's lips was "would she ever write another Harry Potter book?"
Well, here's your answer (sort of):
Jo: [The characters] are all still in my head. I mean, I could write. I could definitely write an eight, ninth, 10th. I could, easily.
Oprah: You could. Will you?
Jo: I'm not going to say I won't. I don't think I will. I loved writing those books. I loved writing it. So I feel I am done, but you never know.
I guess "you never know" is better than just "never", right?
J.K. Rowling to Appear on Oprah!
by Dan
Harry Potter / September 28, 2010
©2010 Harpo Productions, Inc./All Rights Reserved
Hot on the heels of her success at Indigo's Teen Read Awards, the amazing J.K. Rowling is going to make her first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday! In a wide-ranging interview that took place in a hotel in Edinburgh, Rowling spoke candidly with Oprah about her life and career as well as her journey to becoming one of the most recognizable and popular writers in the world. Rowling, who (as you know) rarely does interviews, also shared her thoughts on the possibility of ever writing another Harry Potter book in the future.
J.K. Rowling Among 10 Authors Honoured at Inaugural Teen Read Awards Celebration
by Dan
Harry Potter + News / September 27, 2010
Wow. I've just received the news that the Harry Potter books received forty thousand votes in the Indigo Teen Read Awards! And won in two categories! And what is more, the awards went to my two favourite books in the series, said award winner J.K. Rowling. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everybody who voted. I'm thrilled, honoured and humbled to receive the awards, especially from Canada, where I have spent many happy hours with some of Harry's most devoted and knowledgeable fans. (I) send my love and gratitude to the Canadian branch of Dumbledore's Army.
The complete list of Teen Read Awards Winners:
Harry Potter and the Undergraduate Module
by Dan
Harry Potter / August 20, 2010
The Guardian newspaper is reporting that Durham University, England, will be offering a course on Harry Potter this Fall. Apparently around 70 of Durham's undergraduates have already signed up for the module 'Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion', which will be offered for the first time as part of the university's Education Studies BA degree:
Thought to be the first course in the UK focusing on the works of JK Rowling, the module will require undergraduates to set the series "in its social, cultural and educational context and understand some of the reasons for its popularity", and to consider Harry Potter's relevance to today's education system.
Awesome.
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The Complete Harry Potter Collection in Paperback
by Siobhan
Harry Potter / February 23, 2010
Accio! The Harry Potter Complete Paperback Box Set is here!
This box set contains all 7 Harry Potter books, in paperback, with the original cover artwork. The box features lovely illustrations of Hogwarts and the title is printed in silver foil. It looks really great, so I thought I'd share a few photos with you muggles and aspiring wizards...
There will also be a complete box set of the paperback editions of Harry Potter with the adult covers is coming in May 2010. But in the meantime, here's a little sneak peak...
The adult "A-Format" paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is also now available in stores.
P.S. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you should also check out this slideshow photos of the HUGE book we sent to JK Rowling after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows containing messages from fans across Canada.
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Harry Potter: Canada Thanks J.K. Rowling
by Siobhan
Harry Potter / July 07, 2009
Today's the day. The paperback edition of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS arrives in bookstores across Canada today (likely by owl post). To celebrate, we wanted to reflect on our memories of Harry from the past decade. We couldn't find a penseive around the Raincoast offices, so we turned to photographs instead!.
The publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, on July 21st, 2007, marked the end of an era. For the past ten years, Harry Potter had sparked the imaginations and touched the lives of countless readers. And the magic of Harry lives on, long after all the midnight parties and late nights staying up reading. How could we possibly sum up what Harry has meant to everyone? It's an impossible task.
So Raincoast Books and Bloomsbury decided to let Harry Potter fans speak for themselves, and tell J.K. Rowling what Harry Potter has meant to them. We called on heroic booksellers across Canada who were throwing launch parties, and asked them to gather fans' messages to J.K. Rowling on large pages! Afterwards, we collected all the messages and the marvelous muggles at Centennial Bookbinding in North Vancouver bound them up into a book. TWO books, actually: there were far too many pages to fit into a single volume!
The books were presented to J.K. Rowling during her visit to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 23rd, 2007, when she spoke at the Winter Garden Theatre.
We wanted to share with you a few photos of the book. The messages are heartfelt, inspirational, funny and brilliant. Much like Harry Potter fans themselves.
The Stats:
There are 483 pages in total, split between two volumes.
The stack of pages before binding was 3.5 thick.
The two volumes each measure 20.25 wide x 28.5 tall.
The crate containing the two albums weighs in at 93lbs.
Click here to see the photos on Flickr or curl up with a cup of butterbeer and watch the slideshow here!
As J.K. Rowling once said, “I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book”. I think all Harry Potter fans can agree with that.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows in Paperback!
by Dan
Harry Potter + News / September 22, 2008
Wait for it!
The much-anticipated HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by J. K. Rowling will be published in paperback in Canada on July 7th, 2009. The suggested retail price is $17.95 (ISBN 978-1-55192-840-1).
The final adventure in the Harry Potter series, the hardcover edition of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, published in 2007, sold over 800,000 copies in Canada in its first 48 hours of sales. The entire seven book series has sold over 11 million copies in Canada since 1998.
For more information on the Harry Potter series, visit our Harry Potter page.
Fans Report on JK Rowling Event in Toronto
by Siobhan
Harry Potter / October 31, 2007
Monique from SoMisguided.com was one of the lucky people who atttended JK Rowling's event at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto last week. She's written up a report of the event: to read it, click here.
If you were at the event and want to share your experience with other Harry Potter fans, leave a comment here or post a link to your own blog post about it.
Personally, I had a fabulous time at the event. The Winter Garden Theatre was a perfectly magical setting, as the theatre's ceilings are lined with leaves and colourful lanterns--the above photo of the theatre was taken by one of our ticket winners, Lesley, a few weeks before the event took place. (Thanks, Lesley!) JK Rowling was a fantastic presenter. One of the funniest parts was that the microphone screeched at one point when she imitated Hermione screaming at Ron--very appropriate. When JK Rowling was answering questions from the audience, I almost cried when she started talking about George and how he'd never really be whole again after losing Fred--and I know I wasn't the only one who was holding in tears. I was so glad to see how happy she was when we presented her with the huge "Canada Thanks JK Rowling" books which contained messages to JK from fans across Canada. (I'll post some photos of the books soon!) All in all, it was an amazing day.
The JK Rowling Comes to the Winter Garden Theatre Was a Success!
by
Harry Potter / October 24, 2007
Finally, after all the waiting, JK Rowling arrived infront of a crowd of nearly one thousand people to read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Toronto yesterday!
The entire event went off without hitch. Despite traffic jams, heavy rain, and major subway problems, the Winter Garden Theatre was packed full of fans brimming with excitement. When JK Rowling strode onto the stage, she was greeted by an almost deafening standing ovation. After the cheers died down, JK Rowling spoke a few words about how excited she was to be here, and read from the chapter titled "The Silver Doe" beginning in the middle of the chapter on page 308 when Ron returns and is reunited with Harry and Hermione.
The event continued with 12 questions from fans and a presentation by Raincoast Books of two volumes of a giant "Canada Thanks JK Rowling Book" in which were pages of notes from fans collected from bookstores and libraries all over Canada. After a short break, JK Rowling returned to sign books and exchange words with all the fans who came up on stage to meet her.
It was an amazing experience and I felt so lucky to be a part of it and meet so many of the Raincoast winners as well!
If you would like a more detailed summary check out this posting by Amanda, one of our lucky winners, who wanted to make sure that anyone who couldn't attend could at least hear a little more about what went on inside the theatre doors: http://www.raincoast.com/blog/details/the-final-list-of-winners-for-the-jk-rowling-contest/P25/
Thank-you Amanda! 