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On June 26 author J.K. Rowling will be interviewed on the stage of London’s Royal Albert Hall by comedian Stephen Fry, who has narrated the Potter audiobooks, before reading from the new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and will then answer questions from children:
- Competition for a place in the Royal Albert Hall is expected to be fierce. Teachers were invited to apply for tickets for groups of up to 50 children. Winners will be drawn in a ballot.
Scholastic, the American publishers of the Potter books, will fly in 10 competition winners to London for the event.
Readers desperate to know what happens to Harry in his latest adventure have already been given some tantalizing clues.
Last December, a private U.S. buyer coughed up $485 a word for a synopsis of the fifth book that Rowling offered for a charity auction in London.
“Thirty-eight chapters … might change … longest volume … Ron … broom … sacked … house-elf … new teacher … dies … sorry,” were more than enough to generate vigorous bidding.
Six years on, Pottermania shows no sign of abating as publication date draws near. Print runs on both sides of the Atlantic already run into millions and bookshops will be opening from midnight on June 21. [Reuters]
I may even read the damn thing.
