Book Sales For a Cause: Tales of Beedle And Bard Sales To Help Fund Children's Charity

Now I know we're not all rich like JK Rowling, and we don't have that great American Novel (or a tween version like Twilight whichever turns you on), but nevertheless doing something for a good cause is always uplifting.

I just read that sales of the volume of five fairy tales, with eight million copies in print worldwide, will help fund the Children's High Level Group (CHLG), a charity Rowling co-founded for Eastern European children vulnerable to autism.

What spurred this?

Four years ago JK Rowling was so shocked by a newspaper photograph of a small boy staring from his caged bed in a Czech care home that her first reaction was to turn the page. But, haunted by the image of Vasek Knotek (who was suffering from autism), the Harry Potter author went on to spearhead a multi-million-pound campaign to transform his and other children's lives across Eastern Europe.

It's nice to know some authors look for some meaning beyond personal gain. Darn! Now I have to go buy that book too.

Why Stephenie Meyer is such a good writer

I'm reading the "Twilight" series and I have to admit that I am impressed with Stephenie Meyer's writing style. I read it and go, "I know exactly how that feels!" You see being a wannabe author, also means I like to dissect how other authors put their thoughts together and how they spill them on the page.

With Stephenie Meyer though, it's like reading through a girl's head it's amazing. She's written about stuff that all girls have felt but most girls can't even begin to explain. She has put to words feelings and scenarios that play everyday in a girl's head about love and life and the what-ifs of what's to come. This makes her such a great writer.

Sure "Twilight" reads more like juvenile fiction because it features high school kids (not to mention high school age vampires and werewolves), but it's so easy to read that just makes it even better.

I read "Harry Potter' because I felt it was such a recreation to read it, and this is why I'm reading "Twilight" as well. It's not comparison though. People shouldn't compare them too much. Harry Potter was made for kids and adults just ended up enjoying it because it became such a big hit and a power tale. Twilight on the other had is first and foremost a love story rather than a fictional one. That would explain why most of the readers and fans are girls.

It's nice to read about this wonderful guy (or guys - if you like both Edward and Jacob) and about this supernatural kind of love, it gives me an escape from reality. That is the mark of a great writer -- being able to take your readers where you want them and enthralling them in the world of your creation.

J.K. Rowling Speaks At Hogswart er Harvard

Harvard felt much like Hogwarts when their commencement exercise had none other than J.K. Rowling as main speaker.

It's weird when certain personalities are asked to speak in events like that. Harvard most of all has the most extravagant taste in celebrities, everyone from Paris Hilton to J.K. Rowling I suppose have guested there.

Nevertheless, even non-Harry Potter fans appreciated J.K. Rowling's message during the said affair, most of which devoted to the power of imagination, specifically the human ability to put oneself in another’s place. The author discussed her stint working for Amnesty International and how the letters sent to the office taught her about the horrors many suffered in distant places. Rowling then encouraged the graduates to use their intelligence and privilege to better the world.

J.K. Rowling Vs. Vander Ark - The Fight For Harry Potter Lexicon. To Publish Or Not To Publish?

It looks like the new Rowling case is a fan's passion carried too far. I do believe the the HP Lexicon site just wants to expound on the work of J.K. Rowling and in effect "be part" of the Harry Potter world, but J.K. Rowling does have a point about trying to stop it.

J.K. Rowling wants to be the supreme authority on Harry Potter as should be because she is the book's author. We should probably give her that. I think it's more a matter of integrity now rather than a case of copyright.

In the Reuters article below, both sides are mentioned as saying their piece with regards to whether the book should or should not be published. I think it shouldn't. Vander Ark should just respect J.K. Rowling's work by letting her write it. If he truly does admire her work then he should respect it as well. Say no to the money man!

Author J.K. Rowling said on Wednesday publication of an unofficial
encyclopedic companion to her Harry Potter books would "open the floodgates" and
threaten other authors.

The British author and Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.,
are suing independent U.S. publisher RDR Books, which plans to publish "The
Harry Potter Lexicon," a 400-page reference book written by Steve Vander Ark
based on his fan Web site (www.hp-lexicon.org).

"This case is about an author's right to protect their creation," Rowling, 42, told a New York court. "If this book is allowed to be published the floodgates will open."

"Are we, or are we not, the owners of our own work?" said the author of
the seven Harry Potter books that have sold about 400 million copies. "It's not
just my work that is endangered."

Rowling, estimated by the Sunday Times to be worth about $1 billion, said she was outraged her work was considered fair game because it was so popular.

She has called Vander Ark's book "sloppy, lazy" work, unlike other Harry Potter companion books already published, which added original commentary
and criticism.

An emotional Vander Ark, 50, wearing spectacles similar to those worn
by Harry Potter, said on Tuesday his book was intended to help readers and
celebrate Rowling's work. He denied accusations of plagiarism.

A lawyer for RDR books said the book by Vander Ark, a librarian who has
spoken at Harry Potter conferences in several countries, would promote Rowling's
series and not hurt sales. Two literary experts testified for each side on
whether Vander Ark copied too much text, citing works on authors like C.S. Lewis
and James Joyce.

In closing arguments, Dale Cendali, a lawyer for Rowling and Warner,
said the lexicon reproduced "tremendous amounts of text" without attribution.
"There has been no testimony that it would add anything new or original," she
said. "The lexicon is filled with errors."

But Anthony Falzone, a lawyer for RDR, said Rowling could not suppress
a book just because she thought it was no good. "Copyright law does not permit
an author to suppress a book because she doesn't like it," he said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson urged the sides to settle, saying
the case reflected an emerging part of copyright law with no clear precedents.
"I may need a reference guide to this case," he joked. He is expected to
take several weeks to reach a decision.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" By JK Rowling Sold For £1.95 million

Taking a break from looking around for self publishing opportunities, history was just made when handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling sold for £1.95 million at auction on Thursday. According to The Wall Street Journal, the buyer, London art agent Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, now has one of only seven copies of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," which is leather bound with silver mounts. The book (which previously featured as a fictional plot device in the last of Ms. Rowling's Harry Potter novels) had originally been expected to sell for about £50,000.


The standing-room-only crowd at Sotheby's auction house applauded as bidding topped the £1 million mark. The money will benefit The Children's Voice, a charity co-founded in 2005 by Ms. Rowling and Baroness Nicholson, a member of Britain's House of Lords.

For pictures and more detail on the purchase, here's link to a blog entry that describes it in full detail Tales of Beedle the Bard By JK Rowling Purchased by Amazon At $4M

8th Harry Potter Book - Coming Soon?

Harry Potter enthusiasts, children and adults alike are being intrigued by a new website acting like a teaser for something in relation to the Harry Potter series, with his dad - Jame Potter seeming to take the lead role this time. The title says James Potter and The Hall of Elders' Crossing. Sounds very Harry Potterish to me.



A spokesman for Warner Bros, the company that brought Harry Potter to the big screen and was believed to be behind the website, did not confirm or deny its involvement in the “secret test marketing” when contacted by NEWS.com.au.

You'll need passwords to read snippets of an online book that doesn't really reveal anything about the website or what it is trying to promote. Mostly magic stuff similar to what Harry Potter used to learn in Hogwarts as well as concepts in the world of wizards. There is certainly some connection as copyright information is stated on the website. Many have commented that it could just be a hoax. But if you're interested anyway...

First password: Genisolaris
Second password: Corsica

I guess this is the common denominator between readers and writers - good books. In this case a very crafty marketing ploy at the very least. The website isn't amazingly impressive, but it does showcase some professional features. It makes me think of how I would like to market my book when I get it published. This should revolutionize book marketing.

The 8th Harry Potter Book - NOT Published?

For all book-lovers out there, J.K. Rowling added one more book to her Harry Potter series.
According to Publsher's Weekly, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the real-life incarnation of a collection of wizarding fairytales mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as a gift left to Hermione by Professor Dumbledore."

Apparently the book is handwritten and contains illustrations by Rowling. This has to be one of the most personal books ever written as according to J.K. Rowling - writing the book “has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years,” she told the AP.

Only seven copies of the title were printed, with a brown leather binding and elaborate silver and gemstone decorative accents. Reuters reported that in a dedication to the book, Rowling states, “Six of these books have been given to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books during the last 17 years. This seventh copy will be auctioned; the proceeds to help institutionalized children who are in desperate need of a voice. So to whoever owns this book, thank you—and fair fortune be yours.”

Sotheby’s will auction the book December 13 with an opening price of $62,000. The winning bid will be donated to Rowling’s charity The Children’s Voice.

I hope whoever gets the last of the 7 copies, will post the book online for the rest of us humble-folk who will probably never lay a hand on it.

I'm willing to bet though that time will come, this book will be published - especially with the growing demand and hype. Maybe that's the point of all this - to make some noise and establish the relative demand of the book - and then they can publish it full tilt, because right now I still see some copies of the Deathly Hallows already at something like 10% off in some bookstores. Guess that's how traditional publishing works.