Potter Prequel Receives 70,000 in First 20 Hours

Fan will remember a 800-word Potter prequel by J.K. Rowling was sold at a charity auction in London last week. The prequel has since been available to read online here and here (non-flash version). Utalkmarketing.com is now reporting that the website received more than 70,000 visitors in the first 20 hours after posting the prequel.

The prequel was among 13 submitted story cards donated by various authors, including Neil Gaiman. All 13 cards will be published along with the winners of the Waterstone’s “What’s Your Story?” competition on August 7th in a special charity book, which can be pre-ordered here. Proceeds will go to the English Pen and Dyslexia Action charities in the UK.

Potter Prequel Online; More on Buyer

The 800 word Harry Potter prequel that J.K. Rowling wrote for charity can now be viewed online here or here.

Also, this morning Bloomsberg has some more information on the bidder who one Jo's card last night at the charity auction in London. The card sold to Hira Digpal, president of Tokyo-based investment-banking consulting company Red-33.

Digpal, who originally had a closed bid of 50,000 pounds before halving his offer, said he faxed a letter to Rowling's publisher asking for the author's cooperation to use the story in a way that would raise more money for charity. He declined to give details of the proposal.

``Here I am, owning a piece of literary history,'' said Digpal in a phone interview from Tokyo. ``I think I got a bargain. Hopefully, we can raise much more than the sale.''

Potter Prequel Sells For 25,000 Pounds

This evening, the 800 word Potter Prequel that J.K. Rowling wrote on a small storycard for charity was auctioned off for 25,000 pounds ($48,855). The short story, written on a sheet of A5 paper, was one of 13 submissions made by various authors, and was was sold to "an absentee bidder."

As for the story itself, which can be viewed online via this link tomorrow, AFP is reporting that story is set three years before Harry's birth, in which James Potter and Sirius Black are "confronted by two policemen after a high-speed motorcycle chase, and evade the authorities using their broomsticks and magic."

Furthermore, the BBC has a video of Lizo covering the auction and reading an excerpt from the card.

Not only will copies of the 13 storycards be available online and on display in Waterstone's across the UK, but a book featuring the stories can be preordered here.

JKR Hosts MS Charity Ball

Last night, J.K. Rowling hosted a MS (Multiple Sclerosis) charity ball at Harburn House, West Lothian. According to the Sunday Mail, the event earned £320,436 for Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, which Jo is patron over. Of interest, one item included in the featured charity auction " was the chance to be immortalised as a wizard or witch in a portrait at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Florida."

More on Potter Prequel

A followup on yesterday's big news that J.K. Rowling has written an 800-word prequel to the Harry Potter series for charity. The Guardian is now reporting that the prequel is about James and Sirius in their younger years.

CBBC Newsround also has a photo of the part of the card with Jo's previously released quote about the prequel: "From the prequel I am not working on - but that was fun!"

JKR Writes Potter Prequel for Charity

Earlier this month this we reported that J.K. Rowling was to write original work on a blank “storycard” for a charity auction in the UK. MSNBC is reporting tonight that J.K. Rowling wrote a 800-word, writing on both sides of the card, "prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga."

The article goes on to say: "Organizers refused to comment on the content of Rowling's Harry Potter prequel, but Hogwarts fans hoping for another book to add to their collection may be disappointed by her signoff."

"From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!'' Rowling wrote.

In the past Jo has stated that she does not plan on writing a full prequel or sequel for the Potter series, excluding Beedle of the Bard and the much anticipated encyclopedia.

Jo's prequel will be published along with the 12 other authors' who contributed in a book that will go on sale in August. The cards will be posted online June 11th, so expect to be able to read the short prequel soon.

JKR Donates 'Storycard' for Charity Auction

Bloomberg is reporting tonight that J.K. Rowling has donated a special “storycard” for a charity auction in the UK. J.K. Rowling among the likes of of authors Richard Ford, Nick Hornby, Doris Lessing, Tom Stoppard and Sebastian Faulks have all written an original piece on a “blank A5 sheet."

The auction will be held in London, England on June 10th at a branch of Waterstone’s; it “will be restricted to an invited audience and bidders.” Proceeds from the auction will be donated to English PEN and Dyslexia Action.

JKR Signs Open Letter to Address Darfur Genocide

J.K. Rowling is among a number of famous authors who have leant their voices in an effort to raise awareness of the current genocide in Darfur. Jo and other authors, including Judy Blume and R.L. Stine, have published an open letter adressing the issue of Darfur:

The Text of the Letter

In Darfur there is a story that is being told, re-told, and told again. It is a story of loss, fear, and trauma. Of children’s fates being dictated by armed men. It is a not a story that we want to tell you. But it is a story you must hear.
Today is the Day for Darfur, which marks the fifth anniversary of one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Over 200,000 people have been killed and over two million have been forced to flee from their homes and villages. Children barely old enough to walk, yet alone run, have seen their homes burnt and razed to the ground, their mothers raped and their fathers killed. Most are now holed up in sprawling camps, traumatised and living in fear. Children in Darfur draw pictures of bombs and guns. It is all they have ever known. Childhood is under attack in Darfur.
It is time to change the narrative. It is time to tell a different story. This April many children in Darfur will be reaching their fifth birthdays without ever having known peace. The world needs to wake up. For too long it has let these children suffer. Our politicians need to act on Darfur. It is time they demanded an immediate ceasefire, fully supported by the peacekeepers and punished anyone who tries to block their deployment. They must also do more to support a peace process based on justice and human rights, so there can be hope of an end to the suffering.
The children of Darfur didn’t ask for this war, but are living their days caught in the crossfire of reverberating bullets. They must be allowed to be children again. Despite the daily terror they face, they still have hopes and dreams. The world needs to act now to give the children of Darfur a future.

List of Children’s Authors who have signed the Letter
Mike Berenstain
Judy Blume
Gillian Cross
Anne Fine
Cornelia Funke
Julia Golding
Michael Morpugo
J.K. Rowling
Louis Sachar
Rawya Sadek
Amanda Sthers
R.L. Stine
Tracey West
Daniel Pennac

For more information, I highly suggest checking out SaveDarfur.org.

JKR Trust Donates to Women's Refuge

The Volant Charitable Trust, founded by J.K.Rowling in 2002, has donated £25,000 to Stirling Women’s Aid in England to help furnish its new local refuge. An additional £5000 was also donated by an anonymous source. The trust was named after J.K. Rowling's mother, whose maiden name was Volant, who died from Multiple Sclerosis. The charity was set up to "support charitable causes and projects, nationally or community-based, at home or abroad, which alleviate social deprivation, with a particular emphasis on women’s and children’s issues."

JKR Continues Efforts to Help East European Orphans.

Fan will remember that back in 2006, J.K. Rowling launched the Children's High Level Group and visited Romania to help raise awareness of disabled and mentally handicapped children locked in cages in Eastern Europe.

According the The Herald Sun, Jo met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife and the wife of visiting Romnian resident Calin Popescu-Tariceanu in London today.

The plan is to help tackle health care problems in the East European country that can lead to disabilities.Mr Brown also wants to support efforts to stop babies being abandoned at hospitals.A Downing Street insider said: “This is an issue which Sarah and JK are passionate about.“They’ve been grateful for the willingness of the Romanian government to engage in serious discussion about it.”

The British Embassy in Bucharest, Romania has since further elaborated with an online report, featuring a photo of Jo at the meeting. According to the report the an agreement was made on the impressive progress that Romania has since made and on the importance of future collaboration. It was also agreed that Bucharest will host a seminar gathering officials from child protection fora, NGOs and business representatives, later this year.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown commented: “I am delighted that this meeting has taken place today. Although there is still work to be done, Romania is helping to show the way on how to tackle the challenges faced by children with disabilities. Britain and Romania will continue to work together in this important area.”