08:25 AM EDT 04/13/2013
J.K. Rowling
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J.K. Rowling's Home Sells for $3.6 Million
Originally posted 11/26/2012 01:55PM
It may not be Hogwarts, but it carries a pedigree – and a palatial price tag.
The Edinburgh house where J.K. Rowling wrote four of her seven Harry Potter novels has been sold for well over $3.6 million.
The 19th-century Victorian mansion – which includes eight bedrooms, a walled garden and a detached office in the back where Rowling reportedly worked – went to an anonymous Scottish businessman, James Whitson, the real-estate agent who dealt with the property, confirms to PEOPLE.
Whitson told the Scotsman newspaper: "This was an iconic house in Edinburgh. … To be honest, it was a refreshing change to the normal house. There was a bit of magic involved, which was quite fun to deal with."
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J.K. Rowling's New Book: Not Your Kid's Harry Potter
Originally posted 09/27/2012 07:00AM
One million copies preordered. Fifty Shades of Grey and No Easy Day knocked from the top of the bestseller lists. It almost doesn't matter whether J.K. Rowling's new book is any good: For famished fans with no nourishment from the beloved Harry Potter author since 2007, the Sept. 27 publication of The Casual Vacancy, her new novel – not safe for children! – offers hope of fresh literary magic to rock our worlds.
Well, we're not at Hogwarts anymore. We are, however, sort of in Little Whinging, home to young Harry's hideous relatives, the Dursleys – only in The Casual Vacancy the provincial English town full of monstrous adults and miserable teenagers is called Pagford, and there's no Hagrid to swoop in on a motorcycle and take us somewhere more fun.
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J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy Book Cover
Originally posted 07/03/2012 12:00PM
Judging a book by its cover, J.K. Rowling is indeed making her transition from Harry Potter to adult (or should we say Muggle?) fiction.
Publisher Little, Brown and Company released the cover of her latest literary endeavor, The Casual Vacancy, a departure from the world of boy wizards and wands that captivated fans of all ages.
In keeping with the theme of the novel, which follows a parish council election in a small English town called Pagford, the cover is simple and solid in color. Instead of whimsical depictions of Hogwarts and Harry, the only visual on the book front is what appears to be a marked ballot against a red background.
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J.K. Rowling's New Novel for Adults Is Titled The Casual Vacancy
Originally posted 04/12/2012 12:20PM
J.K. Rowling has gone from casting spells to casting ... votes?
The famed author of the wildly successful Harry Potter series has finally revealed details, including the title, of her upcoming novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy.
The book, which is described as "blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising" by publisher Little, Brown, is about a parish council election in a small English town called Pagford.
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Harry Potter Film Sets Open for Touring
Originally posted 03/28/2012 09:45PM
Will the Harry Potter experience be as stunning in person as it was on the big screen?
Fans of the movies will find out starting this Saturday, when Warner Bros. opens up the studios in Hertfordshire, England, where the series based on the J.K. Rowling books was filmed, for public tours.
Nearly all the original models and props are there. An 18-foot wide Aragog suspended from the ceiling? Check. The full-scale Great Hall at Hogwarts? Check. Harry's broomstick? Hermione's cloak? Hagrid's motorcycle? Check, check check.
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J.K. Rowling Working on a New Novel – Not for Kids
Originally posted 02/24/2012 10:30AM
J.K. Rowling enthralled fans of all ages with the Harry Potter series, but now the Edinburgh-based author is at work on a novel aimed specifically toward adults and which Little, Brown will publish in the U.S. and U.K.
In typical Rowling fashion however, additional details of the book, including its title, release date and subject matter, are not being disclosed.
"Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world," Rowling, 46, said in a statement released by Little, Brown.
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Pottermore Unveiled! J.K. Rowling Launches New Web Site
Originally posted 06/23/2011 10:15AM
Harry Potter fans won't be getting an eighth novel, but they are getting the next best thing: a brand-new Web site from J.K. Rowling herself that extends the Potter world into all sorts of digital experiences.
The site, Pottermore, enhances the reading of the seven novels by featuring newly commissioned illustrations and interactive "moments" that follow the action in the books.
"I wanted to pull it back to the reading, to the literary and story experience ... I've had a lot to do with virtually every aspect of it," the author, 45, told reporters in London, according to Reuters.
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Is J.K. Rowling Working On More Harry Potter?
Originally posted 06/17/2011 10:20AM
Optimism, Muggles!
With the final screen installment of the Harry Potter saga set to hit theaters next month, fans of the beloved boy wizard have braced themselves for what seems like the end – or is it?
Author J.K. Rowling launched a website, Pottermore.com, and although it seems promising for Potter fans, the purpose of the project is as mysterious as Voldemort's fate.
"The owls are gathering," reads a statement on a YouTube page linked from the site. "Find out why soon."
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J.K. Rowling Hints to Oprah There Could Be More Harry Potter
Originally posted 10/01/2010 12:20PM
Fans, rejoice – J.K. Rowling offered a bit of hope on Friday that, perhaps, the final Harry Potter story has yet to be told.
"I could definitely write an eighth, ninth, tenth," the celebrated author, 45, told Oprah Winfrey during an interview scheduled to air Friday. "I'm not going to say I won't. I don't think I will … I feel I am done, but you never know."
Speaking in Edinburgh, where the interview took place, Rowling said she felt something of a loss upon finishing the saga's last installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "It was a bereavement," she said.
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Emma Watson Throws Harry Potter Farewell Dinner
Originally posted 06/17/2010 11:00AM
Unlike her prim alter ego, Emma Watson knows how to throw a party.
The actress, 20, who plays straight-laced Hermione Granger in the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise, hosted a dinner at her home in England recently as filming on the series drew to a close.
"The last week of filming Emma had a dinner at her place, and we spoke about the best moments of filming, our secret crushes on set – all kinds of random questions," says James Phelps, who plays mischievous Fred Weasley in the movies. "But all the answers to these questions will stay in that room!"
Phelps and his twin brother Oliver, along with Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon and Tom Felton were in Orlando Wednesday night for the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. Also on hand: Potter author J.K. Rowling, who attended the event with her husband Neil Murray but didn't speak to the press.
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