Rowling Curses Early Potter Reviews

Potter scribe named in suit brought by late author's estate

(NEWSER) - JK Rowling is being accused of copying material for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in her record-breaking series. Her name was recently added to a multimillion-dollar suit against her publisher, Bloomsbury, brought by the estate of the author of another wizard-themed book. The suit alleges that a substantial part of the 2000 bestseller was lifted from a 1987 book called The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No 1 Livid Land by Adrian Jacobs. More»

Last episode of boy-wizard saga cursed by leaks

(NEWSER) - Despite a massive security program to guard against leaks, an online retailer prematurely shipped out as many as 1,200 copies of the final Harry Potter book, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dozens of people already claim to have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, including the New York Times book reviewer, who said she picked it up at a local book store. More»

Record orders for boy wizard's final book flood publisher

(NEWSER) - Advance orders for the final book in the Harry Potter series are up 17% over the last installment, British publisher Bloomsbury reports. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will bring down the curtain on one of the biggest money makers in publishing history on July 21. The latest Potter movie, which has already premiered in Tokyo, is also casting a spell on fans. More»

She and Sienna Miller tell UK ethics panel about media 'siege'

(NEWSER) - The media ethics panel set up in Britain in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal is getting an earful today from some high-profile witnesses:

• JK Rowling: The Harry Potter author complained that a journalist once slipped a note into her 5-year-old daughter's school bag requesting an interview, reports the BBC . "I can't put an invisibility cloaking device over myself or my house, nor would I want to. (But) it feels threatening to have people watching you." She also said reporters posed as tax officials to get personal information from her husband.

She wanted to kill one of the trio 'out of pure spite'

(NEWSER) - Talk about your unforgivable curses. JK Rowling has revealed that she came very close to tossing an Avada Kedavra Ron Weasley’s way somewhere in the middle of the Harry Potter series. “I did seriously consider killing Ron,” Rowling tells Daniel Radcliffe in an interview on the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 DVD, which recently leaked online, according to the Guardian . More»