For a Good Cause

30 May 2008



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Harry Potter Prequel to be Auctioned for Charity

The Harry Potter craze has hardly abated with the end of JK Rowling’s marvelous series. Indeed, there are those as committed to the world of Harry Potter as Trekkies are to the world of Star Trek. Though one hesitates to call the former “Pot-heads,” they are no doubt agog at the prospect of reading the prequel to the series. Someday soon, they might get a taste of it, as Ms. Rowling has penned an outline for the prequel that will be sold at auction as part of a charity fundraiser.

Waterstone’s, the major British book chain, has convinced 13 authors (including Ms. Rowling, Nick Hornby, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Michael Rosen, Lauren Child, Sebastian Faulks, Tom Stoppard and Irvine Welsh) to write and sign story cards to be sold to benefit English PEN (a writers’ association with chapters around the world) and Dyslexia Action. The cards are standard A5 (14.6 by 20.9 centimeters or 5.75 by 8.25 inches) and will be sold off on June 10 without a reserve price at Waterstone’s Picadilly branch.

The card by Ms. Rowling (both sides are covered) has an 800-word outline of the events leading up to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone in the US). CNN reported, “A previous 93-word storycard from Rowling, which referred to the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, sold in 2002 for $53,000. Rowling later produced seven hand-written copies of a new work, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, one of which sold for $3.9 million in 2007.”

Of course, the lucky (and probably very rich) winner will get the original, but those Potterites (please send suggestions for what to call these people) who don’t has that kind of pocket money won’t be left out. Waterstone’s will display copies of the work at its stores and on the internet shortly after the auction. Also, a printed collection of all 13 cards will be available in August.

And for those who just can’t wait, here’s a tiny bit of information from The Guardian, “The plot is a closely guarded secret, but Philip Errington, children's books specialist at Sotheby's, which is conducting the auction on June 10, revealed that Harry does not feature, although a policeman does.”

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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