This thread here will be your one stop spot for any J.K. Rowling news, so kick back, pick up your feet, and read into what's going on!

Please note that this thread will not be used for discussions - any talk on the news can be carried into the main thread or made into a discussion thread. Only the sponsors, co-presidents, and news poster (Phoenix Rising) are allowed to post in here.

J.K.Rowling is one of the many celebrities who have donated shoes for an exhibition to highlight the issue of domestic abuse. The 104 pairs of footwear represent the number of women killed each year as a result of such abuse. The items will tour Forth Valley to mark "the start of a 16-day international campaign aiming to eliminate violence against women." Each pair will appear with a note from the owner. Other pairs of shoes on display come from those who have died at the hands of their partners.


Jess: wow! That is a lot of shoes and sadly, a lot of domestic abuse; scary to think how many more cases have not been reported! *wonders how many pairs of shoes Jo owns*

Entertainment Weekly magazine has named J.K.Rowling their Entertainer of the Year for 2007. As such, Jo features on the cover of their latest edition in which they explain why she was given the coveted spot.

Quote:

"...because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much. In an era of videogame consoles, online multiplayer ''environments,'' and tinier-is-better mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes, she got people to tote around her big, fat old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet."

Quote:

"Even when the incantations are flying (not to mention the people), she stays focused on the humanness of what she's writing about: the cost of pride and stubbornness and vanity, the toll of living in fear, the ache of loss, the search for home, the pain of holding a lifelong secret, the need to be loved, the quest to find out who you truly are."

Source: The Leaky Cauldron


Jess: This is amazing!! And of course we would tote around her big books - we've read the first six and therefore we must know how it ends!! =D Congrats Jo - we love you!

J.K.Rowling was recently honoured at the Writer's Guild awards with a special gong, presented to her by Joan Collins, for her Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Writing.

This was presented at the ceremony on Sunday 18 November.

Source: Snitchseeker News!


Jess: There were many other awards presented too, but I find it awesome that she received this one. Makes me wonder though, just how many other awards she will get about this series...

According to television personality and news reporter Barbara Walters, J.K.Rowling is the most fascinating person of 2007.


Jess: I happen to agree that Jo is rather fascinating. If I was going to PT school, then I would want to be just like her when I grow up. Wait, scratch that. I still want to be like her

J.K.Rowling has updated her website with new entries in the Extra Stuff, FAQ, Characters, Diary and News sections.

In the Extra Stuff section she reveals the core substance of the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows.

Quote:

I decided that the core of the Elder Wand is the tail hair of a Thestral; a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death.

In the FAQ section she talks about what exactly happened when Voldemort used the Avada Kedavra curse on Harry in the forest and what exactly the mutilated baby-like creature Harry saw at King's Cross was.

Quote:

Having taken Harry’s blood into himself, Voldemort is keeping alive Lily’s protective power over Harry. So Voldemort himself acts almost like a Horcrux for Harry – except that the power of Lily’s sacrifice is a positive force that not only continues to tether Harry to life, but gives Voldemort himself one last chance (Dumbledore refers to this last hope in chapter 35). Voldemort has unwittingly put a few drops of goodness back inside himself; if he had repented, he could have been healed more deeply than anyone would have supposed. But, of course, he refused to feel remorse. Voldemort is also using the Elder Wand - the wand that is really Harry’s. It does not work properly against its true owner; no curse Voldemort casts on Harry functions properly; neither the Cruciatus curse nor the Killing Curse. The Avada Kedavra curse, however, is so powerful that it does hurt Harry, and also succeeds in killing the part of him that is not truly him, in other words, the fragment of Voldemort’s own soul still clinging to his. The curse also disables Harry severely enough that he could have succumbed to death if he had chosen that path (again, Dumbledore says he has a choice whether or not to wake up). But Harry does decide to struggle back to consciousness, capitalises on Lily’s ‘escape route’, and pulls himself back to the realm of the living.

Quote:

It is the last piece of soul Voldemort possesses. When Voldemort attacks Harry, they both fall temporarily unconscious, and both their souls - Harry's undamaged and healthy, Voldemort’s stunted and maimed - appear in the limbo where Harry meets Dumbledore.

In the Characters section she talks about the relationship between Harry and Dudley, post-book 7.

Quote:

I know that after Dudley’s brave attempt at reconciliation at the start of Deathly Hallows, the two cousins would have remained on ‘Christmas Card’ terms for the rest of their lives, and that Harry would have taken his family to visit Dudley’s when they were in the neighbourhood (occasions dreaded by James, Albus and Lily).

In the Diary section Jo reflects on the last few months of her life and how busy she's been.

Quote:

Where did the last four months go? It feels as though Hallows was published, and then I slipped through some strange time portal in which everything went at double-quick time, only to be spat out in early December. People keep saying to me, ‘I expect things have calmed down now you’ve finished?’ to which my answer some days is a fairly humourless laugh. I have been exceptionally busy since July, what with the US/Canadian tour, Beedle the Bard, assorted charitable commitments, a massive post-publication mountain of correspondence, plus those three children I insisted on bringing into the world. Consequence: neglect of website!

Quote:

As for mourning Harry – and I doubt I will be believed when I say this – nobody can have felt the end as deeply as I did. The writing of Harry Potter has been inextricably linked with my life for seventeen years, and saying goodbye has been just as tough as I always knew it would be. So I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has written to me since publication, saying such wonderful things about what the books meant to them, because your words meant the world to me at this very bittersweet time.

Finally Jo has updated her news section to announce that the ITV1 documentary which recorded a year of her life from Nov. 2006 - Nov. 2007 will be aired on December 30th.



Jess: Lots of information about the series, and yes I can imagine the series would have taken a much harder toll on her than anyone else. She wrote the series, afterall. (which makes me upset that she lets the movie standards go so low)

Showbiz Spy has some moving quotes from the recent documentary J.K.Rowling...A Year in the Life, in which Jo speaks about her family life, the depression she suffered following her mother's death & the breakdown of her first marriage and the things fame has brought.

Quote:

The mother of three admits her mother’s painful death influenced her writing. “It has seeped into every part of the books,” she said. “She would have odd losses of feelings in limbs, her balance was poor for a long time and then it got worse and worse and she decided it was time to visit the doctor. “She had a very virulent form of the illness and at that time there were no drug treatments at all.” The hit author opened her heart by admitting she regrets not seeing her mother’s body before her funeral. “I wanted to see her but my father didn’t want me to see her and I mistakenly agreed not to,” she said. “I deeply regret that. I really wish I’d seen her. It didn’t matter what she looked like. It would have made things easier.”

Quote:

“I’d had a short and quite catastrophic marriage. I had to get my baby back to Britain and re-build us a life and adrenaline kept me going. “It was only when I came to rest it hit me what a complete mess I had made of my life. That hit me quite hard. “We were as skint as you can be without being homeless and at that point I was definitely clinically depressed. “That was characterised by a numbness, a coldness and an inability to believe you will feel happy again. All the colour drained out of life.”

The documentary can be watched here.


Jess: very interesting information that Jo told in that documentary. Some of it is quite personable, which surprises me that she told of all that. But at the same time, it's sort of good that she did...

Daily Mail columnist, Richard Kay, has stated in his section of the paper that J.K.Rowling is to receive an honour at the upcoming South Bank Show awards for 'outstanding achievement'.

Quote:

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is due to receive an award for outstanding achievement. All fine and dandy. But who has been asked to honour Miss Rowling? Step forward Madonna. The hyperactive warbler is a Potter fan, as is her 11-year-old daughter Lourdes. So both have been asked to come on stage and present the award to Miss Rowling.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Dorchester Hotel in London, England on Jan. 29th. It will be broadcast on ITV1 Feb. 3rd.


Jess: Congrats Jo on getting the award for outstanding achievement! And congrats to Madonna and her daughter for getting the opportunity to present this award! - If there is anyone who is able to catch this on TV on the 29th (particularly those in England), then please do and share with us your input!

J.K.Rowling...A Year in the Life, a documentary that originally aired on ITV1 in the U.K. at Christmas, will air in Canada tomorrow (Monday) evening. It will be shown on CBC Newsworld from 10pm. The film follows Jo's movements from November 2006 right through to November 2007, including the moment when she finished Deathly Hallows.

Update: If you can't catch it then, the documentary will also be airing on Sunday, February 10th at 8pm (ET). Again, on CBC Newsworld.


Jess: To all our Canadian fans; if you could catch this and give us a summary of what happened, then it would be highly appreciated! Thanks!

A new interview with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has appeared in a Spanish magazine, where she talks about links between the Wizarding World and Real Life.

Jo admits that Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was based on Neville Chamberlain, a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the early years of World War II. She also speaks about a rumour concerning her ex-husband, which claimed that he was the basis of a certain character in the books. J.K. denies this again, saying that he led to one of the most beautiful things which happened in her life, her daughter Jessica.


A brief outline (translated) of what is in the magazine can be seen below.

Quote:

About the relationship between September-11 and Harry Potter, Rowling denied any influence and recognizes who was the true inspiration for the Minister Cornelius Fudge: "My model of the world after Voldemort's return was, directly, the government of Neville Chamberlain in Great Britain during the Second World War, when he tried to minimize the menace of the Nazi regime for political convenience." She also spoke about her two marriages: "I had decided not to marry again. In seven years I didn't meet anyone who I wanted to be with. And I remember that I thought: I have a daughter who I adore, I have success, and in the deep, I am happy. My sister introduced us and I thought he was a very solid person. He's an excellent doctor in his profession, and he works in a world that is far away from mine. What I most adore about him is that Neil knows more people that want to know if he can help them, without having to ask who he is married to." She didn't avoid talking about her first husband, Jorge Arantes, who was married to her near two years: "None of the characters of my books is my ex. Whatever happened in and out of marriage, the truth is that my ex-husband has contributed in a fifty percent to one of the most beautiful things that has happened in my life, which is my eldest daughter. So, I'd never have mortified him in a fairy tale. He's her father."

The full interview can be read in this week's weekly edition of XLSemanal, which is included as a supplement in more than 20 Spanish newspapers.

The front cover of the magazine can be seen below, and in SS galleries here





Jess: very fascinating interview!

J.K.Rowling has given her support to the Hands off the Sick Kids campaign in Scotland which is protesting against transfering specialist cancer and neurology services to Glasgow from Edinburgh. Thousands have joined the fight against the attempt to centralise services. A final decision should be made in a couple months.

Quote:

Today, Ms Rowling said: "Should the current services at the Sick Kids be transferred across to Glasgow the consequences for seriously ill children and their families would be massive. "These children have enough to deal with without being separated from their families or having to endure long journeys west."

Other celebrities supporting the campaign include Ian Rankin, KT Tunstall and Gavin Hastings.


Jess: This is another really awesome cause that Jo has shown full on support for! We should all be awed and take heed to Jo's lessons of being caring and heartfelt to others.

There is more information about the ongoing legal battle between Warner Bros./J.K. Rowling and RDR Books/Harry Potter Lexicon. In preparation for its case, RDR asked J.K. Rowling to hand over, among other things, her notes from her seven Harry Potter books, Scholastic and Bloomsbury’s notes from the books, and "further material from Ms. Rowling’s creative mind" in an effort to determine "how far Ms. Rowling had progressed in this project…how similar, and thus how competitive, Ms. Rowling’s guide, and the Lexicon, were likely to be."

A judge has denied the requests, stating RDR has "not shown the Court that any further discovery about Ms. Rowling’s notes would be helpful to Defendant’s position."

The judge has, however, asked Rowling to submit statements she has made previously in publications in regard to plans for her encyclopedia.

In addition, RDR has asked for an additional three days to file their reply, which was due today, to address the complaint filed by Warner Bros. and Rowling. It is now due on Feb. 8. The hearing is scheduled for March 13.

You can view RDR’s letter here.

You can read more on the history of the case at the links below.

J.K. Rowling files lawsuit

J.K. Rowling’s statement

RDR Publisher’s statement

The Lexicon’s statement

Judge issues restraining order

Stanford Law School defends RDR Books

Jo & WB file full injunction request – part I

Jo & WB file full injunction request – part II



Jess: This is such awesome news! Thank you to the judge!

Because I'm like a month behind, I'm just going to post several of the latest 'Jo news' in one post to get us caught up...

***13***

J.K.Rowling has come in at #7 in The Scotsman's list of the 50 most powerful people in Scotland.

Quote:

Professor Christine Geraghty of Glasgow University's theatre, film and television studies department said [...] "...Ms Rowling, was a phenomena and should be looked at as an individual, rather than demonstrative of a wider trend."

The trend found pointed to a bias toward higher education and males.

Quote:

7 JK ROWLING AUTHOR Joanne Rowling's real power is that she made a generation denounced as TV addicts and computer obsessives turn to books. On the back of this, she has developed formidable commercial powers, with her very name prompting financiers and donors to put their hands in their pockets. Forbes has named her the world's second-richest female entertainer and the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007. She was runner-up in Time's 2007 Person of the Year. The creator of Harry Potter is a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and One Parent Families. She can raise huge sums, as when her Tales of Beedle The Bard fetched £1.95 million at auction last year. She went to a state school in Monmouthshire, then Exeter University, and lived in Paris, Portugal and London before making Edinburgh her home.

***14***

We previously reported on a new interview J.K.Rowling did with a Spanish magazine, in which she spoke about her inspiration for Cornelius Fudge. More quotes from that piece have emerged in which she talks about her heroes - hers being the late Robert Kennedy - death & spirituality.

Quote:

"Everything we do in life is an attempt to deny death," she said on commenting on the theme of death in her novels. "I feel very drawn to religion, but at the same time I feel a lot of uncertainty. I live in a state of spiritual flux. I believe in the permanence of the soul," Rowling said in her only interview with a Spanish newspaper to date.

Jo also commented on the U.S. elections and confessed to being "obsessed" with them.

Quote:

"I find it a pity that Clinton and Obama have to be rivals because both of them are extraordinary," Rowling said.

UPDATE: Further quotes from the interview have been translated by Blog Hogwarts:

Quote:

And Professor Dumbledore says, in book 7, after the chapter where Harry faces the death: "Don't pity the dead Harry, but pity the living. And, above all, those who live without love." Someone who says this had to live both experiences: life, death, and lack of love. JKR: Yes, it deals with the idea that if you treat a person brutally, that person is going to become brutal. That is something that you don't learn. We keep mistreating people, with the hope that they learn. But the only they learn is to be brutal, and the cycle repeats again. How can we stop this process? If I give you the answer, I'd be a politician and not a writer. But that process must stop. Because all we do is convert the people in assassins.

Quote:

What makes you happy? JKR: Family and work, obviously. I consider myself so lucky to have a family. When I had my daughter I already felt lucky. Although I divorced, I thought: at least I have a daughter. Many women can't have children. And I am lucky enough to find another great man and have two more kids. My children are, above all, the most important. Although it's difficult to compare writing with being a mom.

Quote:

Do you still write at hand? JKR: Yes. The pen is my magic wand and it has atrophied my finger after using it so much.

Jess: some very interesting quotes here by Jo...

***15***


Next Tuesday J.K.Rowling will be presented with a James Joyce award from the Literary and Historical society in Dublin, Ireland. The evening will start at 7pm in theatre L. Tickets (free of charge) are available only to society members and students at the University College Dublin.



Jess: Congrats! Very awesome work indeed! Jo amazes more every day...