September 21st, 2023
(New York, NY – September 20, 2023) It’s been 25 years since Scholastic published J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S., the first of seven in the bestselling book series of all time. To mark this milestone anniversary, at sunset on Wednesday, September 27th, The Empire State Building’s world-famous Tower Lights will shine […]
September 12th, 2023
On October 16th, the companion book The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac will be released for sale, published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and by Scholastic in the United States of America. This official compendium/encyclopedia of the Wizarding World will feature illustrations from seven artists who bring their vision of the Harry Potter world to […]
August 22nd, 2023
Imagine yourself strolling through the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh, surrounded by the rich history and charm that served as inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s captivating novels. Now, picture staying at the luxurious 5-star Balmoral Hotel for not one, but two enchanting nights. And as if that weren’t enough, you’ll also have the chance to meet the […]
August 22nd, 2023
Ahead of the publication of The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, The Rowling Library has taken the opportunity to publish an interview with one of the illustrators who brought this companion title to life. Peter Goes is a freelance artist and picture book illustrator, living in Belgium. He has also worked as a stage manager and […]
July 30th, 2023
Today, on Harry Potter’s birthday, the Wizarding World announces the return of the inaugural Back to Hogwarts celebrations, alongside a search for the UK’s most enthusiastic Harry Potter fan to lead the Hogwarts Express’ departure countdown. Having begun as an organic fan celebration, each year on 1st September, Back to Hogwarts is recognised as one […]
June 12th, 2023
J.K. Rowling has always been very secretive about the various inspirations she drew upon for her magnum opus, Harry Potter. At different points in her career, she has asserted that no character was inspired by a real person, except for Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Rowling has mentioned the character, who is introduced in the second book […]
April 12th, 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that a Harry Potter TV series is in the works, set to be released on their new streaming service, MAX. CEO David Zaslav made the announcement during a press event held on Wednesday, April 12th. The series will be an adaptation of the original Harry Potter books, and while J.K. […]
April 4th, 2023
Last night, Harry Potter became a trending topic in social media because of Bloomberg report: Warner Bros. Nears Deal for a New Harry Potter Television Series. The scoop, authored by journalist Lucas Shaw, reported that “HBO is close to a deal for a Harry Potter TV series based on the best-selling young adult books for […]
March 28th, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode seven. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
March 14th, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode five. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #75 · March 2023
These past few weeks, rumors have resurfaced about a possible film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, almost like a yearly tradition. Every January of each year, British tabloids or blogs of dubious reputation publish articles about how Warner Bros. is working on a movie version of the successful Harry Potter play. The […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #75 · March 2023
Harry Potter fans have been waiting for years for an encyclopedia of the Wizarding World written by J.K. Rowling. The author herself talked about the project several times, even naming it “The Scottish Book” so as to not jinx the project (a reference to how people would refer to Macbeth as The Scottish Play). In […]
March 7th, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode four. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
March 7th, 2023
For over two decades, the Harry Potter series has captured the hearts of millions of people worldwide. Fans of the series have always taken pride in identifying with the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Now, Wizarding World Digital is inviting fans to celebrate their house pride with a free, interactive event […]
March 3rd, 2023
Harry Potter fans around the world can rejoice as Bloomsbury Children’s Books has announced the upcoming release of The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, the first official magical companion to J.K. Rowling’s beloved series. This comprehensive guidebook will take readers on a journey through the wizarding world, from the Sorting Hat to spell-casting, and everything in […]
February 28th, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode three. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
February 21st, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode two. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
February 21st, 2023
Get ready to delve into the world of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter with our transcription of her exclusive interview on “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, episode one. In this transcript, we’ve compiled J.K. Rowling’s insights and answers. While we highly recommend listening to the entire episode for the complete experience, this transcription […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #74 · February 2023
MinaLima, the graphic design duo, has finally revealed the cover of their illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, along with some first glimpses of the interior. In July 2022, the confirmation that this new edition would be released in 2023 had generated a lot of excitement among fans who have been […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #74 · February 2023
A new commemorative box set On October 9th, 1998, a year after capturing the hearts of the British public, the magic of Harry Potter also enchanted French readers. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, French publisher Gallimard Jeunesse has marked the occasion with the release of a new commemorative box set. In a nostalgic tribute, Gallimard […]
January 20th, 2023
The highly-anticipated videogame Hogwarts Legacy, developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is set to be released in just a few days on February 10, 2023. The game, written by a team of writers, will take players on an adventure through the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The team behind the […]
January 16th, 2023
Bloomsbury, the publishers of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, has announced that the global celebration of the beloved stories will return in 2023 with a new name: Harry Potter Book Day. The event, previously known as Harry Potter Book Night, has been rebranded to allow fans of all ages to participate in the annual celebration, […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #73 · January 2023
The Harry Potter series has a vast and complex canon, with multiple sources including the novels, companion books, interviews, and various forms of merchandise. This abundance of information can be confusing for fans, and it has led to the development of a hierarchy of canon that some use to determine the level of authenticity and […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #73 · January 2023
As many of you already know, back in 2021 we launched TRL Books, our own imprint to produce Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling-themed books. Back then, we published our first book, Secret History of the Wizarding Phenomenon (available on Amazon), and promised two more books. We are pleased to announce that we have more information […]
January 2nd, 2023
TRL Books announces the publication of two exciting new books in the second half of 2023: The Many Faces of Harry by Laurent Garcia and Potterlingual by Sean McLennan. The Many Faces of Harry is a comprehensive look at the talented illustrators from around the world who have brought the magic of the Harry Potter series to life through their […]
December 30th, 2022
Dear Harry Potter fans, We are excited to announce the launch of The Rowling Library Forums, a new online destination for Harry Potter enthusiasts to discuss all things related to the wizarding world. Forums are a great way to chat about a specific topic, such as Harry Potter, with like-minded people. They provide a sense of […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #71 · November 2022
On November 3, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q3 Earnings Conference Call took place, where different executives of the company spoke with investors and not only did they talk about the past but also about the future of the company. In the call, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, mentioned the Harry Potter franchise and J.K. […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #72 · December 2022
Although I have to confess that my memory is not always the best, I think I have already mentioned in a previous issue of The Rowling Magazine how very nostalgic I am of the “old era” of the Harry Potter phenomenon. By that, I mean the 2003/2007 years, back when we used to go online […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #72 · December 2022
A Christmas Carol is nothing like Harry Potter, except in all the ways it is the same. The two stories happen in different centuries, have wildly different protagonists and outcomes. But they are both alike in dignity, in moral conviction and in a hundred details. A warm-hearted giant, the ghost of an old friend, a […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #72 · December 2022
It is in hindsight when some things become crystal clear. This sentiment alludes to one of the most unassuming pairing in the entire Harry Potter series – Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. We were introduced to Hermione and Ron in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Their first contact was in the train compartment to […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #72 · December 2022
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women famously begins at Christmas: ‘“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.’ The Christmassy nature of the book was stressed in the 1994 film adaptation, but in the book it is the Christian import of Christmas that is central, made explicit by the Christmas gift […]
November 29th, 2022
Pottermore Publishing and Audible have announced an extraordinary milestone – over one billion hours of the Harry Potter stories have now been listened to on Audible globally, since the audiobooks were first made available there seven years ago. This benchmark has been reached as Pottermore celebrates 10 years of innovative digital publishing and shows that listening to the […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #71 · November 2022
After the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling kept revealing facts from the lives of the main characters, especially what happened to them after the events of the seventh book. Some of these revelations were done during interviews or reading events, some of them in pieces that she published in Pottermore, […]
November 4th, 2022
Today was Warner Bros. Discovery Q3 earnings call with investors, and CEO Davis Zaslav mentioned Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. According to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, Zaslav said: “We’re going to have a real focus on franchises. We haven’t had a ‘Superman’ movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a ‘Harry Potter’ movie in […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #71 · November 2022
In the fourth Harry Potter book, the young wizard craves a quiet life. But death is close at hand and the end of innocence is inevitable. Harry Potter is too young to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, which comes as a relief. After three years getting battered by various dark forces he has had enough […]
October 7th, 2022
Jim Kay, the artist behind the illustated edition of the Harry Potter books, is stepping down from working on them, his agent Alison Eldred has announced. Jim Kay has announced that he’s stepping down from working on the Harry Potter series. The fifth book will be published next week and it includes some fabulous work […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022
Shorn of world-building Prisoner of Azkaban is the story of one boy’s struggle with depression, as Harry Potter comes to terms with the murder of his parents. Harry’s depression is manifested in the terrifying form of the Dementors of Azkaban, which threaten to consume his soul. Depression is the adversary he must overcome to survive […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022
In 2015, Bloomsbury published J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography 1997- 2013, the definitive bibliography of every edition of every book published by J. K. Rowling in English. Bloomsbury intended the book to be “the first source on Rowling consulted by textual scholars, book collectors, auction houses, critics and researchers”. It was authored by Philip Errington, who […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022
Welcome to the world of Harry Potter book translations! Dialogue Alley is a podcast hosted by three Harry Potter translation collectors: Carly, Erik, and Melanie. Each week, the three hosts keep you posted with all the need-to-knows in the Harry Potter book community, dive deeper into a specific main topic, and look closely at one […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #70 · October 2022
The Wizarding World franchise is one of the most developed and immersive works by J. K. Rowling, with fans and readers around the world trying to decipher every little detail as much as they can. Jo understands this, as she acknowledges that fans love every single detail from the books. In 2007, when Harry Potter […]
September 23rd, 2022
Salani Editore, the publishing house who translated and published the Harry Potter books (and others J.K. Rowling’s works) in Italy, has recently published Collezionare Harry Potter by Massimo Battista. This new book is the first complete bibliography of J.K. Rowling’s works published in Italian, and it would be the brother of Philip Errington’s JK Rowling: […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #69 · September 2022
Connections between The Ink Black Heart and Harry Potter From the beginning J.K. Rowling has encouraged readers to find parallels between Strike and Harry Potter. There was the initial announcement of a new seven book series (since quashed – I’m delighted to find that she’s now planned out ten1 and hopefully we’ll get even more). […]
August 27th, 2022
J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith) with Graham Norton talking about Harry Potter, The Ink Black Heart and more on The Graham Norton Show with Waitrose, on Virgin Radio UK (August 27th, 2022).
August 19th, 2022
In anticipation of The Ink Black Heart releasing on 30th August in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, with other international markets soon after, Robert Galbraith has recorded a number of answers to questions focused on the new book. Subjects range from Strike and Robin (naturally), inspiration for the new book, the locations and the […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #68 · August 2022
Why the portraits of the Wizarding World are important and deserve recognition. If you ask a Harry Potter fan what is their favourite thing about the Wizarding World of J. K. Rowling, probably the first answer you will receive would be the spells; others would tell you Hogwarts and the possibility of studying different branches […]
July 15th, 2022
Introducing Starting Harry Potter – a brand new online hub designed to help children dive further into the magic of reading and listening to stories Harry Potter continues to inspire young readers reaching over 600 million copies sold worldwide StartingHarryPotter.com – #StartingHarryPotter (LONDON, 15th July 2022) WizardingWorld.com, the digital home of Harry Potter, today launched an exciting free online […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #67 · July 2022
How the Harry Potter video games can be approached in the Wizarding World canon It has already been more than 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone video game was released. The game is seen as the cornerstone of the subsequent instalments of the franchise – without mentioning its significant place in fans’ […]
June 7th, 2022
Back in February, we reported that Warner Bros had registered the domain name HarryPotterMagicAtPlay.com (and a Twitter account for this brand too). Back at the time, we were not sure what were the plans by Warner Bros and how it would be used. We thought it could be related to a new videogame, but there […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #66 · June 2022
Dive deeper into the Harry Potter TCG, card strategy, deck building and some other Harry Potter vintage merchandise from Mona’s vault at Gringotts! The evolution of trading card games has made an impact on the way we play, interact and collect. Trading cards made their debut in the 1800’s as “cigarette cards”, which were colorful […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #66 · June 2022
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door – The first years enter Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone features an extraordinary number of doors. In this first book Harry Potter enters the magical world, physically and emotionally. His progress towards knowledge, to […]
May 31st, 2022
This summer, the Harry Potter series will be getting a radical new look for those enjoying the stories on digital devices. Twenty-five years after J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published in print in the UK, the audiobooks and eBooks continue to ride high in the bestseller lists, with new generations […]
May 25th, 2022
Actor Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, will publish Beyond the Wand, his first biography on October 2022. They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage door, having ‘a breath of […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #65 · May 2022
“I can tell the wrong sort for myself.” – Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Draco Malfoy is a catalyst, a source of information, a bellwether and a lesson: the boy who made all the wrong choices. He is Harry Potter’s rival and spurs Harry on. Draco is the best […]
February 17th, 2022
TIME TO CONJURE YOUR PATRONUS – FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX BY J.K. ROWLING, REVEALING SPECTACULAR COVER ART BY JIM KAY, AS HE INVITES GUEST ILLUSTRATOR NEIL PACKER TO JOIN HIM IN AN EXCITING CREATIVE COLLABORATION. Jim Kay’s Illustrated Editions of the Harry Potter […]
February 16th, 2022
On Februrary 9th 2022, Warner Bros (through its domain register Mark Monitor) registered the domain name HarryPotterMagicAtPlay.com. Warner Bros. usually registers a lot of domain names related to Harry Potter, more often than not to avoid other people getting them. For example, Warner Bros. owns the domain name HarryPotterSex.com. That doesn’t mean they are planning […]
February 9th, 2022
Amazon has updated its page for the collectors’ edition of the illustrated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (by J.K. Rowling, with artwork by Jim Kay), and the listing says the book will be 576 pages long. In comparison, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is 464 pages long (and both editions, […]
February 8th, 2022
Warner Bros. has registered the domain name WizardingWorldFestival.com. Of course, this may not mean anything, but at the same time, remember our previous scoops about Warner Bros. registering internet addresses for future projects: June 2021: 📢 Warner Bros has recently registered the following domain names: – https://t.co/oeZVIxDANJ– https://t.co/U1INShn2Mp– https://t.co/Bou8S7cugw This could be related to the […]
February 2nd, 2022
THURSDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2022 sees the launch of Miles of Magic: Reading Challenge. Created by the National Literacy Trust in partnership with Bloomsbury Children’s Books, this is a fun and exciting seven week reading for pleasure campaign, helping to bring the magic of reading to life for children, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, […]
January 31st, 2022
The Bookseller reports that Pottermore Publishing, the digital content company for J K Rowling’s Wizarding World, saw revenues rise by 23% to £40.4m while pretax profits rocketed 150% to £9.5m. The company reported details of its financial results covering the period for the 12 months to 31st March 2021. Revenues saw an uplift of 23% […]
January 31st, 2022
We have restored this nostalgic piece of software from our vault. This screensaver was created officially by Scholastic back in 2000, and it includes fun facts from the Harry Potter books and colorized and animated version of Mary GrandPré’s illustrations. You can watch it below:
January 24th, 2022
Bloomsbury has confirmed to us that the Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with artwork by the great Jim Kay, will be published on October 11th, 2022. Both editions, the regular edition and the deluxe edition, will be published on the same day. Bloomsbury will share more news about the […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #61 · January 2022
The year 2021 is now a thing of the past. Fans of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling had a quiet year: the high point was the publication of The Christmas Pig, our fav author’s new novel for children that charmed adults alike, and still stays on the bestseller lists after months since its release. For […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #61 · January 2022
The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery troubles Harry three times across the books. Note: the reasonable restriction. Book Two: Dobby drops dessert on Vernon’s clients. Book Three: Vernon’s sister needles Harry and he spontaneously inflates her. Book Five: Dementors attack Harry and Dudley. Harry draws his wand and “Expecto Patronum!” Keep it […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #58 · October 2021
==== Spoilers from The Christmas Pig ==== Some passages of The Christmas Pig will trigger memories on those readers who are very fond of the Harry Potter series. Are these scenes and dialogues a nod to the Harry Potter books, or just a mere coincidence? Jack arrives at a new school and somehow he is […]
October 1st, 2021
HARRY POTTER: A MAGICAL YEAR is out next week! See some exclusive photos of this new beautiful edition that includes illustration by the great Jim Kay: Preorder on Bloomsbury Books website (UK)
September 9th, 2021
To herald the publication of her first major children’s book since Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling has launched a new interactive section on her website for younger readers to discover and explore the different imaginary worlds of her children’s fiction. On J.K. Rowling’s Stories, visitors first arrive at a writing desk that includes meaningful, personal items reflecting the author’s […]
September 4th, 2021
Warner Bros. has recently registered the following URL addresses: HogwartsTournamentOfHouses.com and HpHogwartsTournamentOfHouses.com. However, it is unknown yet for what both of these are going to be used. Back in June, we reported exclusively the registration of URLs that Warner Bros. ended up using for their new Harry Potter: A Forbiden Forest Experience, so it makes […]
August 26th, 2021
The Elephant House café, the “birthplace” of Harry Potter in Edinburgh, suffered severe fire damage on Tuesday morning. More than 60 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze. One person was taken to hospital as a precaution and another was treated at the scene. The front windows are gone and the interior is largely destroyed. […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #56 · August 2021
There are a lot of important subjects explored in the Harry Potter series: love, death, betrayal, war, and much more. And that’s why today, I wanted to explore one of the most important and compelling topics in the series: wizard clothing. We all know that wizards wear robes, and older wizards sometimes are hilariously oblivious […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #56 · August 2021
Books in the Wizarding World are important objects that change the way some characters behave. Oliver goes through some of the most important titles in the Harry Potter universe.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #54 · June 2021
Harry must descend into the Underworld, the realm of the dead, traditionally situated below the world of the living.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #52 · April 2021
Ruth Winick worked as a Graphic Artist in the first Harry Potter films and is the original creator of some of the most iconic designs from the Wizarding World. We had the chance to interview her about her work, her inspirations and more!
The Rowling Magazine Issue #52 · April 2021
The second Harry Potter Studio Tour coming to Japan in 2023 now has an official website and a trailer. There will be differences with the London attraction, and while everything in Japan will be replicas, Warner Bros. has justified why building a new studio tour was the right call for them.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #51 · March 2021
The upcoming Fantastic Beasts film has received a lot of attention from both its fans and media due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, its continuous breaks during filming and the scandals around actors. Nonetheless, it has been said unofficially that the third instalment has wrapped filming on March 12th, and we can assume it moved […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #51 · March 2021
Harry Potter Needs The Bathroom Bathrooms are mis-used in the Harry Potter books too often to be ignored. They are a sanctuary, an escape, a place to brew potion and a space to transform; a hotbed of clues and a site for a fight. If Harry Potter were a superhero, the bathroom is where he […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #50 · February 2021
A Harry Potter TV series is what is missing in the franchise. It is the last thing that the fandom still dreams of. It has been the main topic this month with announcements, rumours, theories, news, denials and even more theories. Here is all we know.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #50 · February 2021
The way the Harry Potter stories address life is very different from how many mainstream/fantasy franchises engage with love, death and emotion. In Harry Potter, feelings are deeper than a set-piece. They ring true. And these books are full of nods and winks to more grown-up distractions. So let’s look at the life lessons and […]
January 22nd, 2021
Variety reports that Tom Ascheim has been promoted and its new role at Warner Bros will be to oversee the Harry Potter and Wizarding World franchise, acting as a nexus between the studio and J.K. Rowling (and her office/reps at The Blair Partnership). Although the official announcement does not reveal anything about future plans, it […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #49 · January 2021
The Harry Potter franchise has been among us since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997. However, J.K. Rowling waited until 2015 to write about the ancestors of the wizard boy (PMPFAM on RowlingIndex). It is there where we met Linfred of Stinchcombe, an eccentric potioneer who brewed his potions in […]
November 22nd, 2020
It has been announced that Canongate Books will publish The Diaries of Alan Rickman in autumn 2022. The diaries of the late actor – 27 handwritten volumes of his “witty, gossipy and utterly candid” thoughts about his career and life spanning more than 25 years – are going to be edited down into a single […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #46 · October 2020
Phil Bates is an award-winning designer who worked as a senior art director for major broadcasting and cable networks, motion picture production companies, music labels, and design firms that support the industry. You probably saw a film poster made by him, and among his clients are big corporations like Fox or Warner Bros. In 2009, […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #46 · October 2020
And in the end, it was announced. There were many months of waiting and anxiety for the Harry Potter fandom, or at least for the part that was asking for something since forever. A Harry Potter role-play game (RPG) looked like a million-dollar idea and there were not many reasons why a videogame like that […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #45 · September 2020
Dirty deeds are not exclusive to Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange and the Death Eaters. Many characters in the wizarding world do terrible things. Events are not black or white. They are many shades of grey. Voldemort’s crimes include patricide, attempted infanticide, grave robbing, regime change, mass murder… and he’s a terrible houseguest. Other magic folk are […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #44 · August 2020
Harry receives lots of letters throughout the series. From letters from the Ministry for using underage magic outside school to birthday letters and others from Ron and Hermione during summer holidays, Harry is constantly in contact with the Wizarding World through the owl post. Some letters in the series are more significant than others. Let’s […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #44 · August 2020
At this moment, excited eleven-year-olds would be poring over racks of newly purchased spell-books, unaware that they would never see Hogwarts [and] never see their families again. – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry is absent from his seventh year of education. But during the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, school […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #43 · July 2020
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”* Ten-year-old Harry Potter sleeps in a cupboard. He dreams of a magical world. His mean, adoptive family inspire the villains in his imagined adventures. Strange people he sees are transfigured into witches and wizards. […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #43 · July 2020
Pol Peiró knew he was skilled since he was a kid. “I drew the characters from memory from the films I liked”, he recalls. He is one of the many fans who arrived in the Wizarding World through the films and then dived into the books. “It was in 2002 when I did my first […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #43 · July 2020
On July 8, 2020, Harry Potter fans celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Let’s dive into the pensieve and reminisce about this amazing day in 2000. The title of Book Four changed multiple times before it became Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In an […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #41 · May 2020
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has a 19-year-gap between the defeat of Voldemort and the final pages. The book’s epilogue shares a snapshot of 36-year-old Harry Potter’s life and concludes: all was well. In “19 Years Later” and in her online writings, JK Rowling gifted us with clues about her characters’ lives. What can […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #38 · February 2020
Adalbert Waffling appeared in the first and the last Harry Potter book, but there was a minor confusion with this character in some prints of the third book .
March 27th, 2020
We got access to a leaked preview of the upcoming edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States of America). In this preview, you can appreciate some illustrations from this beautiful edition that looks really promising. Update: We were asked to remove the […]
February 16th, 2020
Harry Potter and the History of Magic, the exhibition that was held in London in the British Library and displayed manuscripts from J.K. Rowling and original artwork by the artists behind the covers will land on Japan in 2020. The exhibition will take place in the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art from September 5th to […]
February 6th, 2020
Jim Kay, the artist behind the Harry Potter Illustrated editions, has just shared that he has “been battered by depression these last few months, and despite working non stop have produced practically nothing for The Order of the Phoenix. A minor miracle is now required to get this book done.” Mental health is really important […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #33 · September 2019
Prior to the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Scholastic, the American publishers, released the Advance Reader’s Edition, a copy of the book to share among journalists and booksellers. It was made to create enthusiasm and hype about the book, so those who influenced the market could share their thoughts about the […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #31 · July 2019
A lot of people who grew up with Harry Potter – or developed their love for the franchise later – decided to name their pets after a Harry Potter character. The world is full of dogs and cats called Hedwig, Dobby, Crookshanks, or even Lupin, Severus, Bellatrix, etc – the list could go on. Some […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #31 · July 2019
July 8th marked two decades since the release of the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was a normal day, July 8th 1999, when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban reached the bookshops in the United Kingdom for all the kids who were waiting for the third part in the Harry Potter saga. In the United […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #30 · June 2019
What is now Windermere Wand Shop started with a party. That’s how Deacon, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, tells the story of this wizarding project that brings magic to people around the world and allows wizards and witches to have their own Pottermore magic wand. Yes, you read that right – Windermere is one of the few […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #30 · June 2019
This past May, the Hay Festival was held in Wales. The festival hosted various events and among them was the panel of Stephen Fry, where the actor and writer was presenting his third book on the re-telling serie Mythos and Heroes. The book follows the story of Troy in Greek mythology, and is accompanied with […]
June 17th, 2019
So Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure opened a few days ago and it is already delayed. Why? They got caught with technical problems. It looks like instead of doing a technical rehearsal, they opened to the public without doing a full test of the ride. Why hurry to open a ride if it wasn’t ready? […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #27 · March 2019
Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Where are you from, how old are you, and what’s your background? My name is Bianca, I am from Brazil and I’m 25 years old. I graduated in Visual Arts two years ago and I draw about the universe of Harry Potter as a passionate hobby while working […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #20 · August 2018
It was 2001 when the first companion book for the Harry Potter series was published. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by J.K. Rowling, was released to the Muggle world as a text-book from the Wizarding World, by Newt Scamander, to help the non-profit organization Comic Relief. The book was a facsimile copy […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #18 · June 2018
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Part 1 & 2 arrived on Broadway and it seems it has some changes from its London version. The fans who were lucky enough to see both shows (the American and the European version) noticed a few differences. The most interesting report notes that, in Broadway, Harry Potter, […]
May 15th, 2018
Our friends from Univers Harry Potter found a Taiwanese e-commerce website that gives away the new content that will be included in the “Harry Potter Film Wizardry: The Updated Edition”, to be released in November.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #10 · August 2017
There is another Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone being released this year and it doesn’t come in the colours of your house but in a different language. We had the pleasure of interviewing Matthew Fitt, who is in charge of translating the book into Scots.
June 21st, 2017
There will be a special exhibition at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh that will last only for seven hours. The reason? The 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #5 · March 2017
The Cursed Child team always puts a great deal of effort to make the play accesible to every fan. But with the rise in prices, are they doing what they preach?
The Rowling Magazine Issue #4 · February 2017
We had the pleasure to talk to Emmi, the British/Australian singer who is the voice in J.K. Rowling’s The Blind Pig, about her experience in the Wizarding World franchise.
The Rowling Magazine Issue #2 · December 2016
After watching Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, one seems to leave the theatre with more questions than answers. The first movie in this five-part series is more of an introduction to this new era of the Wizarding World than anything else, so it is natural that it leaves some loose ends. But, will […]
November 15th, 2016
It is December and my eleventh birthday is just a week away. Last month, at the end of November, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released in cinemas around the world. The internet has not exploded (yet), so the only thing I watched (and I did it hundreds of times on QuickTime, because I […]
The Rowling Magazine Issue #1 · November 2016
In August 2005, J.K. Rowling was present at the International Edinburgh Book Festival. After reading an extract from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which was published a month earlier, she took questions from the audience. Here is a transcription of the most interesting questions from that moment, which take us to a time when we still did not know about the last two books.
November 5th, 2016
Barry Cunningham, who was working for Bloomsbury in 1996, was one of the people who discovered Harry Potter. He signed J.K. Rowling for the publishing house – and published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone the next year.
October 24th, 2016
This year Bloomsbury published two new editions for its slipcase collection of Harry Potter books: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (January) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (April). Next month is the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in this format – and we have the images of […]
October 4th, 2016
After visiting the place where J.K. Rowling finished writing the Harry Potter series, we headed to Newcastle, to see Jim Kay’s exhibition at Seven Stories.
September 11th, 2016
This is a guest post by Ibid. Ibid is an Editor at The Harry Potter Lexicon, You can find him at Reddit and SciFi StackExchange. This list is focused on new canon bits and how they relate to other canon. It doesn’t strive to summarize the original articles and therefore will not serve as a substitute […]
August 17th, 2016
The website Hypable detected that Pottermore is going to publish three new ebooks written by J.K. Rowling about the Wizarding School from the United Kingdom: Hogwarts.
August 6th, 2016
As we all know, everything began with a Harry Potter book, which eventually became an epic tale of seven parts. In between, the series morphed into other formats, being the film format the most successful representative of this. But it did not stop there: merchandising of all kinds, theme parks, and now a new original film (not […]
July 31st, 2016
“Wow”… That’s the only word we could think of when we walked off the Palace Theatre in London last month. We were lucky enough to attend Part One and Part Two of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on June 16th and 17th, and that’s something we will remember for a long time. Since it is the […]
July 22nd, 2016
Back in 2000, when dynamic websites were reserved for IT professionals, the Harry Potter fandom started to flood the internet with a lot of different “pages”. You could easily find websites with news, forums and chats to discuss the latest theories – but there was a special fansite out there: The Harry Potter Lexicon. Created […]
July 21st, 2016
We found out about this a few weeks ago – but we couldn’t confirm what was about. “Harry Potter Illustrated Box Set” was the title but no more info, just a suggested price. Now, we have all the details about what Bloomsbury has planned for November for the Harry Potter fans.
June 1st, 2016
At the east end of Princes Street, just a few meters away from the Scott Monument, there is a Victorian Building that has been one of the landmarks of Edinburgh: The Balmoral, a luxury five-star hotel which opened more than 100 years ago.
March 31st, 2016
As we told you previously, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is going to be published in the United Kingdom and the United States of America on October 4th. The book will have 272 pages, and will be illustrated by Jim Kay again.
March 17th, 2016
Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter books, will release a new box containing two wizarding classics: Quidditch through the Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This elegant boxed set will be released on June 29th in the United States.
January 15th, 2016
It is early morning, just as in the story of the man who owns the Harry Potter prequel. This time it is Christmas Eve too, and Carly cannot sleep. There is an auction on eBay that caught her attention, and without knowing that she is going to find something unique, she clicked on the link.
December 28th, 2015
It was 4 in the morning in Tokyo, and the man (from now, we will call him the man, since he asked us to remain anonymous, though you can search for his name online) received a phone call from London. He had won the auction, but his reply was “Can you call me back in 1 […]
November 20th, 2015
The audiobooks of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter novels are available from today through Audible’s UK, US, Australian and German sites, thanks to a deal with Pottermore. The audiobooks are produced by Pottermore and read by Jim Dale (in the North American version), Felix von Manteuffel (in the German version) and Stephen Fry (in the UK […]
October 8th, 2015
Digital versions of all seven Harry Potter books are now exclusively available on Apple’s iBooks Store. The company announced the launch in a press release published today, adding that the “enhanced” digital versions of J.K. Rowling’s novels feature interactive animations, custom covers, and annotations written by Rowling herself.
October 6th, 2015
This is it! The wait is over! If you live in one of the lucky countries, you will be able today to get your copy of the Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s / Sorcerer’s Stone. J.K. Rowling and the press are talking about this, because, although it may look otherwise, it is […]
July 18th, 2014
Amazon announced a new subscription plan called Kindle Unlimited, which allows enjoying unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just $9.99 a month. The Harry Potter series are included in this catalogue.
June 26th, 2014
It’s been 17 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released and to celebrate this anniversary, the amazing people from Wordery are giving us 5 copies of the book to give away to our incredible followers! You only have to follow @wordery and @rowlinglibrary and write a simple tweet to enter the contest. […]
May 8th, 2014
The Scotsman reports that a set of seven Harry Potter books were auctioned at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh. The set, that included a card signed by J.K. Rowling fetched £11,250.
May 2nd, 2014
Update: And our winner is… Ashley! Congratulations! a Rafflecopter giveaway Came home to find this waiting for me, made my day! Thank you @rowlinglibrary & @wordery; you're the best! http://t.co/EBIs8B6Wm6 — Ash.O (@AshleyMOrndorff) June 6, 2014 Our friends from Wordery are sponsoring this incredible giveaway. A month ago we gave you the chance to win […]
April 2nd, 2014
Bloomsbury will publish ‘J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography’ on December, in hardback format. The book is being written by Philip Errington. Mr. Errington is Director for Children’s Books within the Department of Printed Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby’s. He was in charge of the auction of The Tale of Beedle the Bard manuscript in 2008, which was […]
March 21st, 2014
As it has been announced, Pottermore has released “The History of the Quidditch World Cup – Part 2”, the final part of the Quidditch World Cup Section in Pottermore.
March 20th, 2014
Bloomsbury will publish a new Harry Potter edition. The Harry Potter books will have a new face starting this September. Jonny Duddle is in charge of the new covers, which have a more tale-legend look than the previous one, possibly to stay in the same area than Pottermore. His past works include The Pirate Cruncher and […]
March 14th, 2014
As Rowling promised on Twitter, Pottermore has released “The History of the Quidditch World Cup”. In this first part, Rowling shared the rules and regulations of the famous cup, historical context, the history of the games, the structure of the tournament and a few unusual events that were very interesting to read.
December 4th, 2010
Harry Potter is a huge franchise. Movies, merchandising and a lot of books. A guy with a scar and glasses. But the first person who gave Harry a public face was Thomas Taylor, the artist responsible for the cover for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997, Bloomsbury). Thomas Taylor drew the first Harry Potter […]
November 19th, 2010
STV talked to J.K. Rowling back in 1998 about her Harry Potter books and plans for a Hollywood movie. Watch the interview on YouTube.