JK Rowling

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>

Famously Bad Poet Fetches Big Bucks at Auction

Verses from the 'world's worst poet' fetch big bucks at auction

(Newser) - William McGonagall had a tough time after deciding poetry was his calling, being roundly insulted by critics and even pelted with rotten fruit. But the 19th-century Scotsman has been remembered long after his peers—as the worst poet ever to mangle the English language. His works commanded a price higher...

Judges Back Rowling in Case Over Son Pics

UK outlets can't publish photos in ruling seen as blow to paparazzi

(Newser) - A British court approved JK Rowling’s request to ban publication of a photograph of her son, Reuters reports, reversing a lower circuit's ruling. "If a child of parents who are not in the public eye could reasonably expect not to have photographs of him published in the media,...

Don't Get Comfy, Harry Potter

Dr. Seuss, EB White win popularity contest over Rowling

(Newser) - Both are fantasists who've sold zillions of books, but in a recent poll of American children, the classic wins out: Dr. Seuss' works are more popular than JK Rowling's. Three million-plus kids weighed in on an educational software company's website, and Rowling's Harry Potter books trail works by EB White,...

After 10 Years, Harry Potter Off NYT Best-Seller List

Rowling mainstay, which forced changes in the survey, finally vanishes

(Newser) - As the next edition of the New York Times Book Review goes to press, an era ends—books from author JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, for the first time in 10 years, are nowhere on the best-seller list.

Embattled Potter Fan Moved to Tears in Court

'It's been difficult' being sued by Rowling, encyclopedist says

(Newser) - The Harry Potter fan whose attempt to put into print his encyclopedic companion brought a lawsuit from author JK Rowling, broke down in tears in a Manhattan court today discussing how much the books mean to him, the AP reports. Steven Vander Ark became distraught when asked how the lawsuit...

Rowling Slams Potter Reference Project in Court

Author says print version of fan's Lexicon infringes on her plans

(Newser) - Author JK Rowling today slammed a planned print version of a fan's Harry Potter Lexicon as exploiting her ideas, the New York Times reports. “My readership parting with their or their parents’ hard earned cash for this—I think it’s a travesty," Potter's creator complained in court....

JK Rowling Considered Suicide
 JK Rowling Considered Suicide 
Mar 23, 2008 10:01 AM CDT

JK Rowling Considered Suicide

Harry Potter author discusses depression during mid-20s

(Newser) - Before Harry Potter came along, his creator was broke, recently divorced, depressed, and near suicide, reports the Times of London. JK Rowling was a mom in her mid-20s, living in a cramped apartment paid for by a friend when she sought professional help. “We’re talking suicidal thoughts here,...

Studio Will Wizard 2 Movies From Final Potter Book

Pounding Deathly Hallows will be a two-parter

(Newser) - The Harry Potter series finished after seven books but fans will have an eighth movie to look forward to, the Los Angeles Times reports. Warner Bros. has decided to split the final Potter book, the hefty 784-page Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, into two films to come out in...

Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff
Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff
Feb 29, 2008 2:15 PM CST

Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff

Fan's encyclopedia violates copyright, Hogwarts spirit: author

(Newser) - As part of her ongoing effort to keep a fan from publishing a Harry Potter encyclopedia, J.K. Rowling is suggesting that the book would violate the wizarding world's moral and ethical standards, reports the New York Daily News. “I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried...

JK Rowling to Speak at Harvard Commencement

Hogwarts creator will get honorary degree

(Newser) - Harvard students will get a Hogwarts send-off at their spring commencement this year, reports the Crimson, with Harry Potter author JK Rowling as the keynote speaker.  "Perhaps no one in our time has done more than JK Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the...

Amazon Unveiled as $4M Buyer of Rowling Fairy Tales

Proceeds from the handwritten book will go to charity

(Newser) - The Internet giant of book sales revealed today that it was behind the purchase of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" in auction yesterday. Amazon paid $3.98 million for the handwritten manuscript -- a record for a children's book and for any modern literary manuscript, not to mention...

JK Rowling Book Sells for $4M
JK Rowling Book Sells for $4M
Dec 13, 2007 12:15 PM CST

JK Rowling Book Sells for $4M

Only 7 copies of the Tales of Beedle the Bard exist

(Newser) - Sotheby’s figured The Tales of Beedle the Bard would fetch about $100,000 at auction—in retrospect, about 40 times too low. The book, a one-of-a-kind piece of the Harry Potter canon hand-written and illustrated by JK Rowling herself, fetched $3.98 million for charity today, Reuters reports. “...

Harry Charms Students Into Success
Harry Charms Students Into Success
Nov 22, 2007 5:42 AM CST

Harry Charms Students Into Success

Boy-wizard theme helps English school turn scores around

(Newser) - The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry it is not, but a suburban Nottingham school is using Harry Potter’s magic to get results. Primary students chose JK Rowling’s enchanted novels as their curriculum theme, a system school officials launched to raise lagging test scores. Subjects are laced with...

Ignore Potter, and Be Doomed to Irrelevance?

Writer ponders the cultural cost of defying blockbusters

(Newser) - Lord Voldemort is the Darth Vader of the 21st century—if you don’t know what that means, you could be at a massive cultural disadvantage in a decade or two. Esquire's Chuck Klosterman claims he hasn’t read a page of the Harry Potter series—hearing Harry didn’t...

New JK Rowling Book Headed to Auction Block

Handwritten volume one of just seven from Harry Potter author

(Newser) - JK Rowling is about to redefine the meaning of "limited edition," publishing only 7 handwritten and hand-illustrated copies of her new book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the Daily Telegraph reports. Six copies of the fairy tale collection by the Harry Potter author will go to friends;...

Why Couldn’t Rowling Just Let Dumbledore Be?

'Pathetic' closeted wizard does nothing for equality, writer argues

(Newser) - The outed Dumbledore is loveless and pathetic, says Time’s John Cloud. He sees no progress for gay equality in JK Rowling's revelation, but rather a role model as problematic as Larry Craig. Shouldn’t the writer be happy with the news about Harry Potter’s heroic mentor? “Yes,...

Dumbledore Is Gay: Rowling
Dumbledore Is Gay: Rowling
Oct 20, 2007 7:02 AM CDT

Dumbledore Is Gay: Rowling

Harry Potter author outs the Hogwarts headmaster in talk at Carnegie Hall

(Newser) - "I always thought of Dumbledore as gay," J.K. Rowling confided last night to cheers from a sellout crowd in New York, reports the AP. "If I had known this would have made you this happy, I would have told you years ago," said the author...

Harry Potter and the Murdered Heiress?

Rumor has JK Rowling writing crime novel

(Newser) - J.K. Rowling has been spotted writing something in an Edinburgh cafe like the one where she penned the first Harry Potter book, and fellow author Ian Rankin says she's moving in on his territory—crime fiction. Rankin admits he hasn't personally talked to Rowling about her next project; it...

Rowling Goes Easy on Teen Translator
Rowling Goes Easy on Teen Translator
Aug 13, 2007 11:24 AM CDT

Rowling Goes Easy on Teen Translator

16-year-old who couldn't wait for the French edition won't be punished

(Newser) - JK Rowling has agreed not to prosecute a 16-year-old who got the jump on France’s October “Deathly Hallows” release date by posting his own translation online. The young Frenchman said he never attempted to make money from his work, the BBC reported .

Harry Potter and the Chinese Knockoffs

Culture of piracy leads to illegal copying, unrelated spin-offs

(Newser) - The titles are unintentionally hilarious—Harry Potter and the Big Funnel, Harry Potter and the Chinese Porcelain Doll—but China's thriving piracy industry is no laughing matter. The Times looks at the phenomenon of "Harry" knockoffs, a problem so widespread that one estimate puts the percentage of illegal books...

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser