[NOTD] News Of The Day

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271043

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Posted: 18 years ago

Rowling angered as NYT reviews last Potter

Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:30PM EDT

By Mike Collett-White and Robert MacMillan

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times and the Baltimore Sun published reviews of the final Harry Potter book on Thursday before it went on sale, drawing a stinging response from author J.K. Rowling.

The New York Times review, which appeared overnight, said its copy was purchased from a New York City store on Wednesday, while the Baltimore Sun said it obtained a hard copy of the book "through legal and ordinary means".

The official release of the eagerly awaited "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is not until 0001 British Summer Time on Saturday or 2301 GMT on Friday night.

Rowling, whose first six Potter books have sold 325 million copies worldwide, responded with a terse statement.

"I am staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children," she said.

"I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry's last adventure for fans," the 41-year-old added.

Bloomsbury, which publishes Harry Potter in Britain, and Scholastic, its U.S. counterpart, spent millions of dollars trying to protect the contents of the novel until publication.

But photographed pages from "Deathly Hallows", believed to include both fake and real versions, surfaced on the Internet and this week some books were shipped to customers by a U.S. online retailer, prompting Scholastic to take legal action.

Publishing experts expect the seventh and final Harry Potter installment to become the fastest selling book ever after months of hype and speculation about its contents, including what happens to Potter and his friends at Hogwarts. Continued...

Edited by ~*Thamizhan*~ - 18 years ago

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Posted: 18 years ago

"VERY SAD"

A Bloomsbury spokeswoman called the New York Times review "very sad", adding that there was only one day to wait until the official release in book stores around the world. Twelve million copies of the book have been printed for the U.S. market alone.

She likened the events in the United States to the Boston Tea Party, a 1773 protest by American colonists against Britain.

"But over here it is blockades as usual, with the embargo being enforced unflinchingly and without exception by all our customers," she said.

New York Times book editor Rick Lyman defended the newspaper's decision to run its review before publication.

"Our feeling is that once a book is offered up for sale at any public, retail outlet, and we purchase a copy legally and openly, we are free to review it," a spokeswoman said.

"We came across a copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' at a store in New York City and we bought it.

"We took great care not to give away the ending, nor to give away significant details about who lives and who dies, confining our review -- which, incidentally, had extremely high praise for both this final book and the entire series -- to broader-brush assessments of the tone and the writing."

In the review, writer Michiko Kakutani gives away some plot details, including roughly how many characters die and what "deathly hallows" means, but does not leak the big secrets.

"Ms. Rowling has fitted together the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of this long undertaking with Dickensian ingenuity and ardor," the review said.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Marshall in Dubai)

Source: Reuters

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271043

Hibernated

Posted: 18 years ago

Losing Harry Potter is like losing a 'best friend'

Series may be coming to an end, but the magic will remain for one fan


Karen Tam / AP

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the last several years, AP National Writer Allen G. Breed has taken his daughter, Miana, to the midnight release of the latest Harry Potter book and written a first-person story about the joy and angst of watching Miana and Harry grow up. Miana is 14 now, a rising high schooler and a writer in her own right. She tells readers in her own words what it's meant to grow up with Harry.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. - My generation has grown up with Harry Potter. We've grown attached to him — whether on purpose or by just hearing Daniel Radcliffe say, "Expecto Patronum!" on-screen — and we don't want to let him go.

First, we fell in love with the wonderful books based on his adventures and then we fell in love with the movies that brought this story to life. We've grown attached to Harry and his merry band of mischievous pals. We've sympathized with him when he mourned for his parents. We've felt hatred with him when he confronted Malfoy. We've felt happiness with him when he found love.

Now, we're all wondering what "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" — the final book — will bring. Will it mean an end to Harry's life at such a young age? Will he triumph over evil?

Source: MSNBC

Edited by ~*Thamizhan*~ - 18 years ago

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271043

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Posted: 18 years ago

Bad weather warning for Potter fans

HARRY Potter fans may have to brave thunder, lightning and torrential rain when the witching hour strikes on Friday night.

Witches and wizards may want to leave their broomsticks at home and take their pointy hats when they queue up outside Hertford's WH Smith for the midnight opening.

The Green Street store will open for an hour as Pottermania grips the county town.

The release of the seventh and final instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will see fans mix with Friday night revellers.

As severe weather warnings were issued by the Met Office for the East of England, Harry Potter fan and Ware's amateur weatherman Mick Skinner has warned of torrential rain.

He said: "Although I'm a huge fan I don't think I'll be heading out tonight. There's a big front coming up and we could see two inches of rain. I just hope the youngsters take their umbrellas because not even a magic wand will make this terrible weather disappear!"

The last Harry Potter release had more than 100 people queuing at the store.
Senior sales manager at the store Denise Saggers said: "We're expecting huge queues as we had for the last book when they went right around the mobile phone shop and into the shopping centre.

"Lots of people have asked if we are having a midnight opening, and have promised to be there to get a copy. It's very exciting. There is no list, so it's first come, first served."

Woolworths in Maidenhead Street will open 30 minutes earlier than usual on Saturday at 8am

Source: Herts & Essex News, UK

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271043

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Posted: 18 years ago

Prisoners queue for Harry Potter book

Internet retailer Amazon is storing the new Harry Potter books in a secret warehouse

The magic of boy wizard Harry Potter knows no boundaries – or bars.

JK Rowling's literary hero has even woven his spell over the cells of Preston Prison.

Inmates at the Ribbleton Lane lock-up have been queuing up to reserve the latest novel, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, at the prison library.

Three copies of the adult edition of the 600-page novel will be shipped out to the jail on Saturday morning, when the book goes on sale in shops.

With the previous six books in the series proving in great demand among inmates, prison governor Gareth Cheetham said they were keen to keep up with the phenomenon.

He said: "It's popular reading and we try to reflect this with our stock in the library."

Meanwhile, across Lancashire, libraries are getting ready for the Harry Potter frenzy.

Hazel Becker, a senior librarian who oversees book ordering for libraries in Preston, South Ribble and Longridge, said Harry was no longer confined to the junior section.

>> Visit our special Harry Potter section

She said: "Children will be ordering Harry but there has been a lot of adults waiting eagerly for the book, too. We've ordered 23 copies of the adult edition and 20 of the children's.

"With 44 book reservations so far, people shouldn't have to wait long but we are expecting more requests once it comes

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out."

Borrowers may, however, have to wait a few days because of tight security measures imposed by publisher Bloomsbury.

Mrs Becker said: "There is a very strict embargo on the books and we are not even allowed to unpack them until Saturday, so we may struggle to get them to all the libraries on the actual day."

Internet retailer Amazon has given a glimpse of the inside of a secret warehouse where hundreds of thousands of copies of The Deathly Hallows are being stored.

Bosses refused to reveal the location of the vast building for security reasons but published photos of workers, dressed in green t-shirts with "Potter" logos, packing the books into boxes.

Amazon has received more than 2.1million orders from potty Potter fans worldwide.

Source: Lancashire Evening Post, UK

Edited by ~*Thamizhan*~ - 18 years ago

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271043

Hibernated

Posted: 18 years ago

New Book: A Fandom of Magical Proportions The spell of Harry Potter was cast by Rowling ten years ago. But will it really be lifted after fans read the final sentences of Book Seven? Join Erin Pyne as she casts another spell, one that takes readers back in time and into the future with A Fandom of Magical Proportions: An Unauthorized History of the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Explore the magical world of Harry Potter and discover a fandom like no other. Over the last ten years, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, inspiring films, books, websites, art, and even music. Harry Potter is a phenomenon because the fans have identified with the characters and settings so closely that they bring the world of the books into their daily lives, through the strange words they use, the clothes they wear, even the friends they choose.

In this book you will discover a world of Harry Potter far beyond the books. Dozens of fans, authors, artists, musicians, and actors share their opinions and experiences that make the Harry Potter fandom truly magical. Muse over quotes and images from fans and reflections from celebrities including Warwick Davis, George Beahm, Emerson Spartz, Harry and the Potters, and many more!! Looking back on the last ten years of Harry Potter, it is amazing to see how the world has changed because one day, a woman was riding a train and an idea struck her...like bolt of lightning.

Check out A Fandom of Magical Proportions: An Unauthorized History of the Harry Potter Fandom Phenomenon on myspace.

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271043

Hibernated

Posted: 18 years ago

The Potter lockdown

By Clare Davidson
Business reporter, BBC News

Grocers are not usually candidates for a top-level security operation - except, of course, for the vans carrying the takings to the bank.

Thousands of Potter fans have already preordered the book

Asda, though, is reportedly at the centre of just such a vast, shadowy and high-cost system involving codes, security cameras, satellite tracking systems and specially-trained guards. Not to protect its food, that is. Instead, this is the latest twist in the Harry Potter phenomenon: one that requires the next and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, to arrive at Asda stores shrouded in the utmost secrecy. Costs Anyone would think - judging by the nervous voice adopted by Asda's press officer - that one was asking about something highly illegal, poisonous, libellous or possibly all three, rather than a highly popular children's book. But Asda, which has ordered 1.5 million copies of the book is far from alone. Amazon UK, for its part, has preordered some 2 million copies, and has also adopted carefully-crafted plans to make sure its fans do not have access to the 608-page tome before midnight on Friday. In fact, some estimates put the cost of keeping the seventh tome in the Potter series away from prying eyes ahead of its official release at 10m. Part of that cost covers the arrangements for dedicated warehousing, involving 24-hour protection and even guard dogs. In the dark Neither Amazon, nor Asda - nor the book's UK publisher, Bloomsbury - would say when the books would actually arrive at different sites. Neither would they say where from, though distribution via specially-outfitted trucks is said to have started as early as Tuesday.

Images of the book have allegedly been online before the launch

But anecdotes in the press have highlighted the lengths to which the publisher, Bloomsbury, has apparently gone to make sure the release date stays sacrosanct. Apocryphal, perhaps - but reports have said that in Germany the publishers have been ordered to work in the semi-dark, so that no-one can be lured into dipping into the book ahead of time. And in the UK, printing employees have been warned that they could be jobless if they reveal any details. "The publisher has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the content," said Tim Godfray, chief executive of the Booksellers Association, adding that he had never seen such a level of secrecy around a book. US breach But despite the worldwide security operations, some 1,200 readers in the US have been sent the books early - by mistake. According to UK book industry site thebookseller.com, US publisher Scholastic has confirmed that Levy Home Entertainment and DeepDiscount.com had both sent out the book before they were meant to. Till now, of course, the publishers have had at their disposal the ultimate weapon: the threat that anyone who broke the embargo might not get the next Potter blockbuster. Obviously, that sanction no longer applies. But author JK Rowling has said she plans to continue writing - albeit not about Harry, Hogwarts and the like - so booksellers may not want to take any risks.

And the fans are likely to forgive all the cloak-and-dagger surrounding the supply chain, so long as they get this final fix on time.

Source: BBC