Latest: HP7 title revealed
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I have already reserved my copy at the local library. It seems like the whole district only has one copy so far.
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Harry Potter plan to help Madeleine search
CAROLINE GAMMELL
IN PRAIA DA LUZ
HARRY Potter author JK Rowling is considering putting bookmarks bearing the face of missing Madeleine McCann in copies of her final instalment about the world's favourite boy wizard.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last book in the series, is due out on July 21 amid mass publishing hysteria.
Indirect approaches have been made to Rowling about featuring four-year-old Madeleine in the books. Kate and Gerry McCann are determined to keep their daughter's abduction 31 days ago in the public eye in the hope that someone might hold the key to her whereabouts.
They are halfway through a series of trips around Europe and Morocco to publicise their daughter's disappearance from an Algarve resort.
Rowling has already publicly supported the campaign to find Madeleine by contributing to a multi-million-pound reward and has been asked about involving the little girl in the launch of her latest book.
Mr McCann said: "There has been some indirect contact with her. We are thinking about getting bookmarks with Madeleine's photographs and getting the author's agreement.
"Someone like JK Rowling has got massive appeal and a Harry Potter book would be ideal."
Last night, the McCann's pledged to stay in Portugal to look for their daughter until there is "absolutely no hope".
"I would have to feel that the investigation in Portugal has been exhausted," Mr McCann said. "I think we are a long way away from that."
He added: "If you give up hope you are basically saying she is dead. No parent would do that."
Describing her abduction, he said: "It's like the same as having a bereavement, being diagnosed with cancer. There are lots of mixed emotions, and anger is one of them." -
Worm Targets Harry Potter Fans
E-mail claiming to contain a sneak preview of the final installment in the J.K. Rowling book series instead hosts a Trojan horse.
PC Advisor staff
Sophos has warned Harry Potter fans not to open an e-mail which claims to contain the final instalment of the boy wizard book series.
Security companies have intercepted an e-mail promising a copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' -- which is not due for release until July 21. But rather than getting a sneak preview of the book, impatient muggles who click on the file will instead find their PC infected by the W32/Hairy-A worm.
"The W32/Hairy-A worm can automatically infect a PC when users plug in USB drives, which carry a file posing as a copy of the eagerly anticipated novel - 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'," said Sophos. "If the users have allowed USB drives to 'auto-run' they will see a file called HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc."
Instead of the full text of JK Rowling's highly anticipated book, the Word document includes the phrase: 'Harry Potter is dead.'
After infecting Windows computers, the worm creates a number of new users -- namely the main characters from JK Rowling's celebrated series of books about student wizards: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
In addition, every time infected users open Internet Explorer they will find their start page has been redirected to an Amazon.com web page selling a spoof book entitled 'Harry Putter and the Chamber of Cheesecakes.'
"Much of the world is waiting with bated breath for the final Harry Potter novel, and the premiere of the new movie is looming too. There is a real danger that muggles will blindly allow their USB flash drives to auto-run and become infected by this worm," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Using such social engineering at this time is a trick dastardly enough for Lord Voldemort himself." -
Rowling reveals the tears shed over Potter
Fri Jul 6, 8:56 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Best-selling author J.K. Rowling revealed how she broke down in tears during the completion of her final book in the Harry Potter series.
She also tells interviewer Jonathan Ross how she changed the last word in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the eleventh hour.
"When I finished one chapter near the end I absolutely howled," she told the BBC television presenter.
She finished the book alone in a hotel room.
"I was sobbing my heart out -- I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face. That was really tough."
The Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book about the schoolboy wizard Harry Potter and his Hogwarts friends.
The plots have taken a darker turn and Rowling has in the past revealed that she would kill off at least two of the main characters.
When asked by the chat show host whether the word "scar" was still the last word in the book, as had been reported, she said: "Scar? It was for ages, and now it's not.
"Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word."
Harry Potter has a lightning bolt scar on his forehead as a result of a failed curse by the wicked wizard Lord Voldemort.
Rowling also revealed that the character Harry Potter was "totally imaginary" and not based on anyone.
His red-haired pal Ron Weasley was a lot like her oldest friend Sean though, she confessed.
More than 325 million copies of the first six books have been sold worldwide, helping to turn Rowling into the first dollar-billionaire author.
An all-British cast seemed to be a point of pride for her as she admitted it had been a "hell of an achievement."
Stars who have appeared in the five films, including the latest "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," include Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Richard Harris, Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes.
The film had its premiere in London this week.
The Deathly Hallows appears on the bookshelves on July 21, but 1.6 million copies have been pre-ordered online. -
Potter publisher halts Asda order
The publisher of the final Harry Potter book has cancelled an order to supply 500,000 copies to Asda supermarkets.
Bloomsbury said it had taken the decision because it had not been paid by the chain.
But Asda claimed the publisher was unhappy that it had criticised the book's price tag of £17.99.
It has assured UK customers the issue will be resolved in time for the book launch on Saturday, although Bloomsbury said "dialogue has not opened yet".
'Very aggressive'
Asda spokesman Ed Watson told BBC Radio Five Live the chain - owned by US giant Wal-Mart - was not aware that the deal had been cancelled, and said the chain's criticisms of Bloomsbury's pricing policy was behind the decision.
He added: "It just seems funny that after we expose the potty Potter price hike, Bloomsbury are trying everything they can to stop kids getting hold of Harry Potter at a price they can afford."
Bloomsbury marketing director Minna Fry said the order had been cancelled due to "invoicing issues", but acknowledged the firm had been annoyed by Asda's comments.
She said: "Asda have had a problem with our pricing of Harry Potter for a while now, and they sent out a very aggressive press release saying that we were ripping off children.
"We think at 608 pages, £17.99 is extremely good value."
Many bookshops are planning to open at midnight to satisfy demand for the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will bring to an end JK Rowling's tales of a teenage wizard's adventures.
Special stamps
Meanwhile, the Royal Mail has issued commemorative stamps to celebrate the young wizard's success.
There are seven first-class stamps, each featuring the sleeve artwork from a different Harry Potter book.
And there is also a separate sheet with five stamps featuring the crests of Hogwarts School and its four houses - Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
The Royal Mail said the stamps have "some heat-resistant ink that will reveal exciting secrets if you touch them".
