JK Rowling

“I have now reluctantly decided that I cannot, in good conscience, continue to be the public face of a charity that is changing beyond recognition from the one with which I have been so proud to be associated,” she said. Rowling said she had taken the decision to stand down “with profound sadness and regret” but added that her financial backing for a research project into the disease at Edinburgh University would continue. She said in a statement: “This disease claimed my mother’s life at the age of 45, and I hope to continue giving both time and money to a cause which remains so close to my heart.”

How unfortunate when you have the backing of the richest woman in the UK and you crumble from within. We’re happy to see her support for MS research continue, but it’s shame that she will no longer be a part of the organization. As we’ve seen from previous posts, Rowling is incredibly generous in using her talents to benefit charitable organizations. Let’s hope this one gets their act together.

The best news about all these crazy sales figures is that it means a tremendous amount of cash is headed towards Rowling’s Children’s High Level Group — a charity that works to help children suffering in institutions. The 2.6 million copies sold so far translates to almost $6.5 million for the organization. “We had no idea what to expect in terms of sales figures so we are thrilled by such impressive sales in the first week alone … the project will certainly raise a huge amount to fund our work,” Richard Alderslade, chief executive of the CHLG, told Reuters.

Back in December of ‘07, a hand-written and illustrated original of “Bard” by JK Rowling sold for $3.9 million at auction. That price broke a number of records as the highest price ever achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript, an auction record for a work by J.K. Rowling, and an auction record for a children’s book. Once more, all the money raised went to Rowling’s charity.

We here at the Razz love Harry Potter and even more appreciate Rowling’s efforts to use the attention paid her work to benefit others. We look forward to seeing sales numbers creep ever higher as “Bard” continues its sweeping impact. It’s truly been a wonderful holiday season for CHLG!

That money went straight to The Children’s High Level Group charity — which was co-founded by Rowling and Baroness Emma Nicholson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords. The organization works to help children suffering in institutions. Now it appears that they are set to benefit again, with Rolwing having already signed over all royalties for the new book. Because, honestly, as the richest celebrity earner last year (she took in $300 million), cash in no longer a worry. Said Rowling,

“There was understandable disappointment among Harry Potter fans when only one copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was offered to the public last December. I am therefore delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon (who bought the handwritten copy at auction) – and with the blessing of the wonderful people who own the other six original books – The Tales of Beedle the Bard will now be widely available to all Harry Potter fans. Royalties will be donated to the Children’s High Level Group, to benefit institutionalised children in desperate need of a voice. The new edition will include the Tales themselves, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, and with illustrations by me, but also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore, which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters’ Archive.””

The book is expected to be released December 4th. Amazon is even planning a special-edition leather-bound (BOO!) version for $100.00. The charity expects to make about $8 million — but I think they’re being VERY conservative in their estimates.

Earlier this week, the teasing taste of a Harry Potter prequel was auctioned off for almost $50k. The handwritten 800-word treatment was part of a lot of 13 ’storycards’ by various authors, with JK Rowling’s contribution the obvious star of the group. The charity auction was organized to raise funds for English PEN and Dyslexia Action.

The winning bid came from Hira Digpal, president of Tokyo-based investment-banking consulting company Red-33. He originally had a ceiling bid of $100,000 for the work (and hinted he would have gone higher) — but felt he got a steal at only $50K. That being said, he’s open to working with Rowling’s group to raise even more money for charity using the piece. From the article,

“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.’”

JK Rowling has insisted that the 800-word piece of work is not in any way indicative of her ever writing a true prequel or using any of the elements found on the index card. According to the source,the text features a magical car and motorcycle chase involving Harry’s father, and concludes with the teasing words “from the prequel I am not working on –but that was fun!”

“What If?” Potter merchandise from Rowling is big business. Last December, a limited-edition handwritten work titled “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” fetched almost $4 million dollars for her charity  The Children’s Voice. We hope even more magic can be conjured for future benefits! 

[UPDATE] Click here to read the entire prequel! 

There’s a battle going down over the world of Harry Potter, and this one is taking place in a location more terrifying than the deepest recesses of Azkaban. That’s right, the US Court system.

JK Rowling and Co. have submitted an injunction against Michigan-based publisher, RDR Books, to prevent publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an A-Z guide to all things Hogwarts. On March 24th, a NY-based court will consider the case and potentially make history over how an author control secondary works, as well as the right to publish in book form that which already resides on the web. The information for the Lexicon is being derived from an online fan site that compiles and keeps track of all HP facts and oddities.

Even more damaging, however, is the fact that releasing such an unauthorized piece of the Harry Potter universe might cut into Rowling’s future charity plans. From the article,

“Warner Bros and Rowling argue that the publication of the Lexicon infringes Rowling’s copyright and that she has openly and repeatedly expressed her interest in publishing an encyclopedia covering all seven of the Harry Potter books, whose profits would go to charity.”

Unlike the handwritten companion pieces she auctioned off earlier for record amounts, this Rowling-penned encyclopedia would be served up fresh to the millions of fans worldwide. The charity-generating potential of this release would be staggering to say the least. Defendents of the alternative Lexicon argue that people would buy Rowling’s version regardless, but her lawyers aren’t letting that hold sway on their decision to fight its release. This should be an interesting court battle to say the least. Anyone want to get dressed up and sit in the audience?

It was expected to only sell for about $100,000. However, much like magical world from whence it came from, JK Rowling’s limited edition handwritten book defied all expectations. At an auction at Sotheby’s today, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” fetched almost $4 million dollars. That price broke a number of records as the highest price ever achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript, an auction record for a work by J.K. Rowling, and an auction record for a children’s book. The buyer, London art agent Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, now has one of only seven copies of the illustrated work. From the article,

“The standing-room-only crowd at Sotheby’s auction house applauded as bidding topped the 1 million pound ($2 million) mark. The money will benefit The Children’s Voice, a charity co-founded in 2005 by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords. Rowling, 42, watched the auction on the Web from her home in Edinburgh, Scotland, and said she was ecstatic. ‘This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help,” she said in a statement. ‘It means Christmas has come early to me.’”

What a fantastic outcome. As we mentioned earlier, the book contains five fairy tales given to Potter character Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the final book of the series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. Said Rowling, “‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years.”

Only ten copies were created — handwritten and illustrated by Rowling — and each is different in some way from the other. Additionally, they are all bound in leather and decorated with silver ornaments and moonstones. Proceeds from the auction (with a starting bid of $100,000) will go to benefit The Children’s Voice campaign; a charity Rowling established to help vulnerable children.

I love the exclusivity of this book — but why not just make it a commercial companion piece to the series? I’m sure it would generate millions that could benefit a hundred different charities. Chances are, that’s exactly what will eventually happen. The good news is you’ll be able to view the full copy online before the auction starting December 9th.