The Journal News conducted a lengthy interview with actor Ralph Fiennes recently, and in it, he talked about his role in the fourth Harry Potter movie:

Fiennes embodies the serpentine Lord Voldemort, archenemy of our hero and "the most evil of evil of evil of evil of men," the actor says, shaking his head side-to-side before slipping on the spine-tingling silk of Voldemort's voice.

He's not a big Harry Potter fan. But then, flippancy gives way to the hallmark Fiennes seriousness.

"I'm not a psychiatrist," he says. "But I do think childhood is the answer. And thank God, J.K. Rowling has done the work for us. Lord Voldemort is a rejected child. Once I understood that, I could locate the rage."

Dan Radcliffe is now sending out a new newsletter to fans that write to him. He says that he "spent a couple of weeks in Port Douglas in Queensland, which was paradise! Especially, as I had the opportunity to go Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef - all my underwater training for Goblet of Fire came in very useful!

"I spent a lot of time reading this summer and apart from the fantastic Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I have loved The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, and In Watermelon Glory by Richard Brautigan.

"Over the next few months you will start to see lots of photographs from Goblet of Fire - I hope you like what you see and that you enjoy the flim when it is released."

Thanks to DanRadcliffe.co.uk for the excerpts!

In an interview with "Empire" Magazine, Goblet of Fire Director Mike Newell gave his take on the fourth movie. Newell said, "This one's so completely, radically different. It's also unlike anything I've ever done before, which was partly the idea behind it. Really, the only limitation is what you can imagine, which is remarkable.

The first two films are very sunny in a way, and very wish-fulfillment-y. But there is no adult challenge. Alfonso put some of that in and I take it further forward. The truth that you tell with and for and about an 11 year-old is different from what you'll tell with a 15 year-old."

Thanks to EW.net for the excerpt!

In a candid interview with "Popstar" magazine, Dan Radcliffe talked about some of his more recent dreams. He's quoted as saying, "There's one that I keep getting operated on! It's happened like three times! And everyone has the falling one. I always fall to the ground in my dreams. Most people kind of wake up before they hit - I always hit, which is evidently supposed to be really good luck in life! If you die in your dreams, apparently it's supposed to be great!"

Thanks, DR.com!

Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, updated his blog today. In his update, he talks about the International Junior Carp Tournament he recently participated in and the upcoming Goblet of Fire premieres. He writes:

It's been a fairly quiet summer and I have just been doing normal things like getting my car serviced, going fishing, doing up my house etc. The premiere in London is November 6 and New York is November 12 so maybe I will see some of you there. Let's hope it's not raining in London so I get to see some more of you than last time. It was all a big rush in London although I did meet a lot of nice people in New York - it was so hot - does anyone remember?

Thanks very much to WB for letting us know that the London premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be held on Sunday, November 6, 2005. The New York premiere will be held that Saturday, November 12. Times, locations, and attendees have not been announced for either premiere, however.

Thanks to Harry Latino for letting us know about a major discrepancy between the UK and US editions of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from a pivotal scene in the book. Two sentences spoken by Dumbledore were edited out of the UK edition, but remain in the US edition. They also are in the deluxe edition of the book. The page (in Chapter 27) from the UK edition can be seen here, and the page from the US edition, with the two additional sentences, can be seen here (spoiler warning!).

Amazon.com is now selling a boxed set of the first six Harry Potter books for $100, almost $60 lower than the retail price. All of the books in the set are hardcover editions. Amazon has also posted a picture of the six-book set, the cover of which is the back of Half-Blood Prince.

Thanks, Jessalyn!

To get everyone in that happy back-to-school spirit, Movies.com has published a list entitled "8 Great Teachers From Hell," and Professor Snape came in #3 - congrats to him! They wrirte:

Symptoms of hellishness: Clearly favoring Slytherin students, constantly berating Harry, sneering.

Student response: Lighting Snape's cape on fire, misplaced suspicion and distrust.

Why you gotta watch it: While Chris Columbus' take on Harry Potter isn't quite as delicious as Alfonso Cuarуn's, this introduction to J.K. Rowling's world of muggles and wizards is still pretty magical. Rickman absolutely nails Snape's confounding blend of malice and secret compassion.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is ranked second for almost killing Anakin and then letting him live, causing a ridiculous amount of murders over the next few decades, and economics teacher Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off ("Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?") is #1. Umbridge isn't on the list, but that's only because the film adaptation of Order of the Phoenix hasn't yet been released. Once it's out, we figure she just might knock Mr. Stein off the top spot.

Joss Whedon, director of TV's "Firefly," "Angel," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Roseanne," said in a live chat with Empire Online that he would consider directing the seventh and final Harry Potter film once all of the books have been released:

Ihaamond: Joss, what can a Browncoat do to get you directing a Harry Potter movie?
Joss: Ihaamond, awesome question, as I was just thinking about this last night. They would have to wait until all the books come out, as I refuse to see any Potter film till I've read them all, because she writes better movies than anybody shoots. When she's done, I'll go back and watch them and wait for the call to direct number seven.

A transcript of the chat is up at Serenity Oz. Thanks to TLC for the link!

Thanks to Harry Latino for letting us know about a behind-the-scenes Goblet of Fire video that's up at Spanish news website Telecinco.es. We've already seen most of the video, but there's a new scene of Ron and Hermione eating in the Great Hall. The clip can be seen here.

Additionally, the international teaser trailer for the film has been added to the official Italian Goblet of Fire website. Thanks to Trinity for letting us know! Here are the download links (just right-click and select "Save Target As..."):

Windows Media Player
56K Modem
100K DSL
300K Cable/LAN
500K Cable/LAN

Quicktime
56K Modem
100K DSL
300K Cable/LAN
500K Cable/LAN

Real Player
56K Modem
100K DSL
300K Cable/LAN
500K Cable/LAN

Rupert Grint, the very talented actor who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, turns 17 today! (It's already the 24th in the UK.) Happy birthday, bud! He's currently filming Driving Lessons with Julie Walters in England.

Don't miss the fun birthday decorations at the great Rupert fansite RGMS.org!

A thumbnail of the cover of the French translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is up at the FNAC website. The translation is set to be released on October 1. A list of international release dates can be found here.

Thanks to Ron for the tip!

A number of VTM readers sent in reports and pictures from Jim Dale's Harry Potter book reading in Alpharetta, Georgia on Tuesday evening. Conni writes that over 200 people were present and that Jim entertained everyone for about 45 minutes.

Quietus says, "He is every bit as charming and fun as you could hope and really captures the wit in JK Rowling’s writing with his wonderful voice. He told us the origins of quite a few characters voices: Hagrid was an uncle of his, Aunt Marge was an old World War II Colonel he met at a pub. Trelawney was a lady actress (who was “blind as a bat” and once confused garbage bags for him and his children during a screening of the dailys of a film he was making in Ireland)."

Azagirl was one a few kids who participated in Jim's Narrarating Contest. In her recap of the evening, she writes, "Jim reads a passage from book 6, and then three kids including me have to try to read it like him. Some kids don't want to do it. I literally have shaking legs the whole time. I then go up to the microphone and start to read. I get totally zoned out. To be completely honest I'm not used to using a full-fledged microphone." Though she didn't win the contest, Jim told her that she did "really great job."

Mrs. Weasley sent in a number of pictures from the reading and said that Jim was "absolutely amazing....It was awesome to see him in person, he's an amazing narrator!" LA Weekly published an article about the event as well.

Jim's next reading will be held on August 9th at 6 PM at the Politics & Prose on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.

A new report from last month's screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire screening in Chicago is now up at MoviesOnline.ca. An excerpt is below:

Flash to the camp where the Death Eaters are attacking and burning the camp to the ground. They are much more terrifying on film that I thought they would be. Everyone runs, Harry gets knocked out during the frenzy. He wakes up alone and sees a man using his wand to cast the Dark Mark. No Winky and no mention of SPEW or house elves in the film....

Cho Chang is brilliant; she speaks with a heavy accent and is very pretty. Ron is in total denial that Hermione has a date to the ball, and she is beautiful when she arrives. Viktor and Hermione hit it off, Ron becomes very jealous, and Hermione ends up yelling at him. You really see the sparks fly between them in this scene. The only person to really enjoy himself is Neville, who comes home very late after dancing the night away with Ginny.

The full report can be read here. Thanks to The Snitch for the tip!

JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been nominated for a Quill Award for best children's narrative for middle graders. The general public will determine the winners in an online poll, to be conducted from August 15 to September 15.

"This is the first consumer-driven awards program that acknowledges the power and importance of the written word and celebrates literacy," Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television Stations, said Thursday in a statement.

Roger Lloyd-Pack spoke with EDP24 about his role as Barty Crouch, Sr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which he said was a "lovely jubbly job" to have.

"My character - who is decidedly nasty to his son - is quite crucial to the plot as he features in two of the storylines. I hope this part will give me a different profile and that other film parts may be offered to me.

"The British film industry is pretty thin and films like Harry Potter don't come along every day. Most of my work is theatre and television so it would be great if other film work came along."

Thanks to all of you who let us know that this Sunday, August 7th, The Disney Channel will air Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets twice. The back-to-back broadcast begins at 8 PM.

Thanks to Jessie for sending in a transcript of the article about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that was published in the latest issue of Premiere magazine. It includes new quotes about the movie from Director Mike Newell (pictured left) and actors Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter) and Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort):

"It's a colossal kind of Las Vegas entertainment," says Newell of the teen wizard's fourth magical mystery tour. "There are thrills, there are spills, there is comedy, and there is love. School life is anarchic and funny." But lest we forget, this is also the darkest (and fattest) book so far adapted, with Voldemort (Fiennes) rising from the grave and out for Harry's blood....Moreover, people die in this one - and stay dead. "We're getting into much deeper water," says Richardson, who plays tabloid hack Rita Skeeter. "[It's] more complex, more frightening."

Says Newell of Voldemort, "I really want him to have Ralph Fiennes's face and do it by his personality. Let him act a titanically bad human being, but be something that is recognizable." Children visiting the set certainly got the message: "When they were introduced to Lord V.," Fiennes says, "they looked suitably terrified. Which gave me great gratification."

Also published in the magazine was this new picture from the film.

Thanks again to Warner Bros. for passing along this new picture of Harry and Hermione relaxing in the Gryffindor common room after the First Task. It was originally published in the September issue of Premiere magazine.

Thanks to HarryLatino.com for sending over a scan of JK Rowling's latest newsletter. She writes:

Thank you very much indeed for your letter. Occasionally I am told "you must never get tired of hearing how much people like Harry Potter," to which the answer is, "no, never!" I absolutely love hearing from readers; letters like yours are always wonderful to receive.

I am not writing as much as usual at the moment, because I've got a new baby daughter; however, I am doing a bit of work on Harry Seven when the mood takes me, or my sleep deprivation permits. In the meantime, I hope you find Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince worth a re-read!

The French translation won't be released until October 1st, but the English edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is already number five on sales charts in France. The four books topping it (including Dan Brown's "Angels et Demons") are all in French.

The book remains on top of US and UK book charts.

Twelve brand new pictures from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire have surfaced at TLC, including new shots of Cedric, Cho, Igor Karkaroff, and Mad-Eye Moody!

Update: As TLC is having server problems, you can view the pictures here.

Aris's video coverage from Spellbound! 2005 is now online! It includes interviews with a number of fans and footage of the various events. Check it out below:

Part 1 (10 MB)
Part 2 (10 MB)
Part 3 (8 MB)

Or you can download the full video (33 MB) here. A photo gallery from the HBP release party is now online as well.

The Mirror is reporting today that actress Helen McCrory is being considered to play Bellatrix Lestrange in the fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. According to the newspaper, a studio insider revealed that "[t]he producers are trying to keep the cast a secret until it's all sealed. But they are really keen on Helen. They think she has the gravitas and looks to pull off the part of Bellatrix."

Other Bellatrix casting rumors have quickly been shot down, so take this report with a grain of salt.

Thanks again to Warner Bros. for sending along four new images from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! They show the inside of the Weasley's tent at the Quidditch World Cup campsite along with new promo shots of Harry, Cedric, and Krum.

Check them out!

Thanks to WB for sending over a new high-resolution promotional picture of Katie Leung (Cho Chang) from Goblet of Fire. It was originally published in "Teen" magazine.

The Wizard of the Month at JKRowling.com has been updated for the month of August. After reading Half-Blood Prince, this witch's biography is much more intriguing.

Just two weeks after the book's English release, unauthorized translations of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are popping up in China. The official Chinese translation won't be published until October, but pirated versions are already available on the streets of Beijing and on the Internet.

A video interview with Justin Manning, one of many EA producers working on the upcoming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game, is up at GameSpot.com. It includes new footage from the game, slated for a November release. Thanks, Alex!

Harry Potter and his beloved creator share their birthdays today! It’s the big “4-0” for JK Rowling this year, and Harry shall be celebrating his 25th.

In celebration, her website has been decorated with cards and shows a champagne glass instead of the usual mug of finished tea.

Not forgetting Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley), who is celebrating his 58th birthday today.

Warner Home Video’s DVD launch of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has been nominated by England's Event magazine for "Best Launch Event 2005." The winners will be announced October 7 in London. Pictures from the DVD launch, which was held on November 18, 2004 in London, can be seen here.

RopeofSilicon.com has posted a new picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The trio are shown lounging by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, awaiting the arrival of Sirius's head. Check it  out!

Thanks to HPANA for the tip!

JKRowling.com has been updated to wish Neville Longbottom a happy birthday tomorrow, July 30. Assuming that he lives through book seven, he'll be turning 25.

An additional report from this month's Comic-Con convention is up at AOL Moviefone. New footage from the Goblet of Fire film was shown, which "gave a sneak peek at the Tri-Wizard tournament, Durmstrung's aquatic appearance, a perfectly creepy Mad Eye Moody, and best of all, even the tiniest glimpse of He Who Shall Not Be Named. The footage looks dark and fantastic, a shame it'll only be shown once (in this incarnation, anyway)."AOL says that "[a]ll the smart Potter fans (who pre-ordered the sixth book and were able to attend instead of waiting in line at their local bookstore) couldn't keep from cheering in excitement."

Thanks to HPANA for the tip!

JK Rowling is ranked at #40 in Forbes' latest listing of The 100 Most Powerful Women in Media, a significant improvement over her #85 ranking on last year's list.

Forbes writes that Rowling is "a media dynamo....Generating more than $100 million in revenue, her new book's debut is not only the richest opening in publishing history but also gave heart palpitations to the makers of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which debuted the same weekend as the new book."

Other notable women on the list include Oprah (#9) and Katie Couric (#47), the latter of whom interviewed Rowling last month at her home in Scotland.

The release date of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game has been pushed up to October 28th in the UK. It is still slated for a November 15 release in the US and other countries, however.

IGN has posted several new pictures from the game, including a screenshot of Harry during the Second Task. The other images show the trio battling the unknown at the Quidditch World Cup campsite and Harry taking on a massive green pod of sorts.

Jim Dale, the narrarator of all six Harry Potter books, is currently travelling across America on a Harry Potter book reading tour. His latest stop was in Lagrange, Illinois.

His next reading will be held tonight at 7:00 PM at The Levy Center in Evanston, IL. TLC has posted a full schedule of upcoming readings in Georgia and Washington, DC as well.

Also, Random House has uploaded a two-minute long clip of Jim Dale reading from Chapter 18 of Half-Blood Prince.

Vhari Leishman, Bloomsbury.com's cub reporter for the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book launch extravaganza at Edinburgh Castle earlier this month, has published her report of the weekend. At the cub reporters' Q&A session with JK Rowling on July 17, Vhari asked if book seven would end with an epilogue. Bloomsbury has also posted several more pictures from the event.

Raincoast cub reporter Eun Ji An has also written a lengthy report of her trip, which can be read at Raincoast.com. She asked JK Rowling why Harry has glasses.

CBC cub reporter Emmy Chahal's report is online as well. Emmy asked Jo what advice she would give to aspiring writers.

IGN posted seven new video clips from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game several days ago - check them out! Thanks very much to Alex for the tip!

The video game will be released on November 15, three days before its film counterpart.

Amazon, Inc. announced today that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was "the biggest title in Amazon's history." Its UK arm delivered more than 400,000 copies of the book on its release date. Amazon distributed more than 1.5 million copies of the book worldwide.

Ryan Regan, acting managing director for Amazon's non-US businesses, said: "We were very pleased with both our distribution and the Royal Mail, and customer feedback was excellent."

An AP article about the Spanish translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is making the rounds today. Translators were not shown the text of the book until its July 16 release, and therefore could not begin the translation process until that time. Marjorie Samper of Lectorum Publications is quoted in the article saying, "The Spanish publisher (Salamandra Editorial, based in Barcelona) is just getting started and told us that the translation will probably be ready in the spring of 2006."

"A lot of customers are asking about it. I have a waiting list of 80-90 people," says Miguel Salvat, marketing director for the Miami-based Libreria Universal. "Obviously, people would be happier if we had the book, but they don’t get upset. They understand there’s nothing we can do about it."

The first translations of the book will be released this fall.

Coming Soon has published new interviews with Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum), Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory), and Clemence Poesy (Fleur Delacour) from the Goblet of Fire set in November.

CS!: How was it shooting the Tri-Wizard scenes?

Robert: The maze right at the beginning was tough, physically demanding stuff. It's me and Stan and Dan doing it for most of the time, and most of the special effects are kind of real. The whole thing was hydraulic, so the maze is crushing and squeezing in on you, and no one knew if you were going to sort of die, because it closed the whole way. It was all pretty exciting stuff. I had never done anything like that before.

The latest edition of VTM OnAir, our weekly news video, is now online! The past week has been the most jam-packed and exciting one we've had in ages, and I think it's safe to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed it. This week's video can be accessed via the link on the right-hand side of the page.

Aris would like to dedicate this edition to Katie (from Rockford, Illinois) and Jessica Doland, two of many VTM fans we met at Spellbound.

Dinosaur Comics and PvPonline.com both are currently featuring some humorous cartoons about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Thanks to Monica and Tracy for the links!

Sweet sixteen! Daniel Radcliffe turns the big 16 today - hope your day is splendid, Dan! (Don't miss the special birthday festivities at the two top Dan Radcliffe fansites, DR.com and DR.co.uk.)

Thanks to TLC, we have four new pictures from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game, including our first look at Mad-Eye Moody. The other images show new poses of Harry and Hermione and a new picture of the dragon chase.

To see them just click here. . . 

Thanks to Snitch Seeker for these high-quality images of Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) on the set of his latest film, Driving Lessons. Also included in a few of the pictures is co-star Julie Walters, who plays Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter films.

RupertGrint.net has received a report from the set of the movie. The author writes: 

"The shooting took place at The Cobden Club, Kensal Road yesterday. Basically in this scene, the character Rupert plays was taken to a salsa club by his girlfriend who he met in Edinburgh (plays by a young actress called Michelle), where she is a regular. They had a couple of drinks and the bubbly girl Michelle plays dragged the shy boy onto the dance floor and they started to dance. The music was played live by a Scottish band called Salsa Celtica. Yes, you'll get to see him dance salsa."

NPR (National Public Radio) has aired several reports on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince over the past week, all of which can be heard on their website. Report links are below:

Eager Little Eyes Await 'Harry Potter' (July 13)
A New Chapter of the 'Potter' Saga (July 16)
For the Love of 'Potter,' a Version in Braille (July 16)
Harry Potter Fans Slug Down Pages of 'Prince' (July 18)
Harry Potter, Crossing Racial Lines (July 22)

A transcript of the interview that Harry Potter fansite owners Emerson Spartz and Melissa Anelli (of MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, respectively) conducted with JK Rowling last weekend is now online. It's been divvied up into three parts (1, 2, 3), and both Emerson and Melissa have written reports of the trip as well, which can be read at their sites.

Three cheers to Warner Bros. for passing along high-resolution versions of the amazing new Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire pictures that Entertainment Weekly published yesterday. Check them out here!

Thanks to HPFZ, we have a video of Australian Harry Potter fan Emma Coad's interview with JK Rowling, which recently aired in Australia. We've divided the interview into four video clips for easier downloading.

Part 1 (1.5 MB; 2:10)
Part 2 (2.3 MB; 3:09)
Part 3 (2.8 MB; 3:50)
Part 4 (2.6 MB; 3:36)

Shropshire Star reports:

Muggle officials were called out to deal with a serious incident in Telford after spoilsports slung a huge sign revealing the ending of the latest Harry Potter book across the town's main road.

A spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council said that the sign appeared to be a prank and had been taken down for health and safety reasons.

The latest edition of Entertainment Weekly (issue #381; July 29, 2005) includes an eight-page article on both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, complete with brand new pictures from the film! A new shot of Harry is featured on the cover, and two stunning pictures are on the inside - one of Harry in the graveyard and another of him in the Owlery.

Several pages of the Harry Potter feature are devoted to the latest book, The Half-Blood Prince, and they contain major plot spoilers. One hilarious blurb, entitled "Hot 'n' Heavy at Hogwarts," recaps the teenage romance in the tome in a Seventeen-esque fashion. Some may claim that Alynda Wheat is Rita Skeeter's new alias. Also worth a read are EW's casting predictions for the Half-Blood Prince movie and book seven theories.

 Check them out here!
Thanks to MN for the scans!

Harry Potter fans across the globe are gearing up for tonight's highly anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The BBC is carrying an informative article detailing international festivities, from New York to India. Waterstone's is expecting a crowd of 300,000 at its UK stores, and the Toys R Us in Times Square, New York, will be transformed into the Hogwarts Academy for the midnight event.

With the Harry Potter series already being used in many English-language classes in French junior and high schools as a way to help students understand more about British society, culture, and education, bookshops in France are preparing for a flood of Potter fans following the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The head of literature sales for the Virgin retail chain in France said that they do sell a lot of Harry Potter books and the English version represents around 20 percent of those sales. She refused to give exact numbers, but said that Virgin have ordered a large number of the lastest book.

When Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was launched, French readers bought over 22,000 copies of the English edition in the first week it became available, months before the French translation went on sale.

The full story can be found at Yahoo.com.

Still unsure where you should pick up your copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Well, if you are aged under 15 and live in the UK, Kwik Save has announced that it will sell the book to you for only Ј4.99 ($8.77). Other UK supermarkets are currently only selling the book for Ј8.96 ($15.75).
Article from the Daily Mail.

Following last week's bombings in central London, WH Smith has announced that their Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince release party will be moved from King's Cross station (where Harry catches the train to Hogwarts each year) to a store in Wimbledon, south-west London.

Bloomsbury has released a detailed description of what will take place at Edinburgh Castle tomorrow evening. From the press release:

"Before midnight on Friday evening, JK Rowling will arrive at the Esplanade outside Edinburgh Castle to be greeted by 2,000 Edinburgh schoolchildren and their families. Street performers, torch bearers, jugglers and entertainers will complete the carnival atmosphere outside the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle’s medieval faзade. Onto the castle, will be projected a giant image of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book jacket. ITV’s presenter, Stephen Mulhern will be hosting a live 30 minute programme entitled “HARRY POTTER AT THE CASTLE: MAGIC AT MIDNIGHT” (11.45pm-12.10am, Friday 15th July) which will be broadcast live onto a screen (9 metres wide x 7 metres high) on the Esplanade."

More information can be found here.

This morning's "Today" show included a segment on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince "and how it's breaking book records with the high demand." The video is now up at their website.

The Baltimore Sun interviewed Harry Potter editor Arthur Levine about JK Rowling in an article published today. From the article: 

"Her process is to work very, very hard for a long time before she sends me the manuscript," he says. "At the point at which she's ready to send it to me, it's pretty polished. She's almost always aware of what she's doing and why. She rarely does anything unconsciously. She's a secure writer, very confident."

After studying the manuscript, Levine and Emma Matthewson, Rowling's British editor, confer in person or over the phone. Then, they write a joint letter to Rowling outlining their responses. So considered and thoughtful is this letter that Levine describes it almost as though it were a gourmet meal that had been painstakingly planned over a period of weeks.

JK Rowling signed the very first copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today, to be donated to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. It will be delivered to the National Library on July 16th. A video of the signing is up at Bloomsbury!

The first test screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was held yesterday in Chicago, Illinois, and a report (written by a viewer who has only read the first book) is up at OscarWatch.com:

"The pace was good, the acting was good...Hermione didn't have nearly as much to do in this one, which was my only disappointment....

Brendan Gleeson's (Moody's) face was pretty messed up, lots of scars and a fake eye that moved. His makeup was very well done.

Brendan Gleeson/Moody made a big impression. There was one point when he had a run-in with Malfoy and turned Malfoy into a ferret. He said something like "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl your hair."

In a survey conducted by the Federation of Children's Book Groups, six out of ten kids said that the Harry Potter books have helped them improve their reading skills. Also, 48% said that Harry Potter is the reason they read more.

Teachers were also polled: 84% said Harry Potter has helped improve child literacy and 67% claimed the series has turned non-readers into readers. One literary professor said, "The sheer pervasiveness of JK Rowling's books means Harry Potter will certainly have impacted on children's literacy levels. Reading and re-reading books is very valuable in building fluency, and there is a strong link between reading books for pleasure and improvement in word recognition and comprehension."

And two more statistics: 51% of kids thought that "the books were tough to read but worth sticking with," and 41% said that they "have made reading cool."

Harry Potter actors James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Devon Murray (Seamus Finnegan) and Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe) are planning to attend Cauldron Con next month in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Cauldron Con, a multi-genre fantasy and sci-fi themed convention, will take place at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort and Conference Center in Danvers from August 12th to 14th. In addition to purchasing autographs, attendees are able to join the actors for dinner on Friday or Sunday.

Thanks, Susan!

From a Scholastic press release:

"The first author-signed U.S. edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived in New York under tight security after a transatlantic crossing on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. The journey will culminate with the presentation of the signed copy at a press event on Friday, July 15 at 9:30a.m. at Scholastic headquarters in New York City.

After J.K. Rowling signed the book in her office in Edinburgh, Scotland, a Scholastic executive traveled with the book—under tight security—to Southampton, England where it was placed in a 5 foot by 7 foot steamer trunk which was then locked and loaded by crane onto the Queen Mary 2 for its journey to America. When the ship docked in New York City harbor, the steamer trunk was unloaded and transferred by the ship’s porters to a Dunbar Armored truck and taken to a secure and undisclosed location."

In a televised showdown today, 14 year-old Owen Jones, of Cardiff, Wales, won ITV1's contest to interview JK Rowling at Edinburgh Castle on July 16. Owen said, "I would like to ask JK Rowling what's going to happen in the next books and how does she feel about the moment when she will finally finish the series and not write Harry Potter books any more."