NEWS
Order of the Phoenix cover released
20 March 2003: The cover of the next Harry Potter book, the Order of the Phoenix, has been revealed.
Three months before the release of the book, publishers Bloomsbury have given eager fans another clue about what will happen next to Harry.
It shows a phoenix, emerging from flames. And is the first cover not to feature Harry himself.
The contents of the book are so secret that even the artist, illustrator Jason Cockcroft, wasn't allowed to read it before drawing the cover.
Instead J K Rowling and her editor at Bloomsbury, Emma Matthewson, came up with the idea and then told the artist the kind of image they wanted them to create.
The adult cover, designed by Bloomsbury's Design director William Webb, is from a photograph by Michael Wildsmith and again shows a phoenix.
The US cover of the Order of the Phoenix shows an intense portrait of 15-year-old Harry holding his wand in front of a series of doors.
It is drawn in tones of midnight blue, indigo and flame blue and was illustrated by Mary GrandPre.
The book will be in the shops on 21 June.
Source: CBBC Newsround
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix publication announcement
J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to be published
on
21st June, 2003 in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia
The world’s most anticipated book is over one third longer than the previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
London, England; New York, New York; 15th January, 2003: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling, the fifth in the best-selling series, has been scheduled for release on Saturday 21st June, 2003 in Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia and in the English language in many countries, it was announced by the book’s English language publishers, Bloomsbury and Scholastic, to whom it has now been delivered. The companies also announce that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is over one third longer than J K Rowling's extraordinary previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
In making the joint announcement, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Publishing in Britain and Barbara Marcus, President of Scholastic Children’s Books in the United States said, “We are thrilled to announce the publication date. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is absolutely superb and will delight all J K Rowling’s fans. She has written a brilliant and utterly compelling new adventure, which begins with the words:
“The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive … The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.”
Later in the novel, J K Rowling writes:
“Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses.
‘It is time,’ he said, ‘for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.’”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is over 255,000 words compared to over 191,000 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The new book is 38 chapters long, one more than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J K Rowling’s fourth Harry Potter book, was released on 8th July, 2000 and was the fastest selling book in history on the first weekend of its publication. All four Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, have been Number 1 bestsellers and are currently on bestseller lists in Britain, the USA, and around the world.
Sources: Scholastic and Bloomsbury
What happens in the fifth Harry Potter book?
The author's own fascinating and unique glimpse into the much-awaited
fifth Harry Potter novel.
November 2003: J.K. ROWLING PROVIDES AN OUTLINE OF SOME KEY EVENTS IN HER
FIFTH STORY WHICH WILL ONLY BE REVEALED UPON PURCHASE OF THIS LOT. THE LOT WILL
THEREFORE BE SOLD SIGHT UNSEEN (and as such is sold not subject to return), but
these extracts will give some idea of the content:
... thirty-eight chapters ... might change ... longest volume ... Ron ... broom
...sacked ... house-elf ...new ... teacher ... dies ... sorry ...
This autograph card was written at the request of the Society of Authors whose
Children's Writers and Illustrators Group asked their members to contribute text
or illustrations on cards to be sold in order to raise funds for the charity
Book Aid International which works to meet the shortage of books in the
developing world. The charity supplies books direct to schools, libraries and
educational institutions and supports the local book trades in these areas. The
charity's vision has been summed up thus: 'Our vision is of a world in which
everyone has access to the books and information they need. We are working
towards this vision by providing books for readers of all ages in some of the
world's poorest countries.'
(As of December 12, 2002, the "clue" was sold for a "Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium" of £28,680. The Leaky Cauldron, with fans responding to charity, lost its bid of £24,000.)
Source: Sotheby's and The Leaky Cauldron
JK Rowling to sell hint about her next Harry Potter book
By JANE WARDELL
The Associated Press
LONDON, Tuesday, November 26, 2002: How much is someone willing to pay to
find out what happens to boy wizard Harry Potter in the next installment of his
adventures?
London auction house Sotheby’s reckons about £6,000, or US$9,400.
That is its estimated price for a 93-word handwritten document by author JK Rowling that reveals the outline of the plot of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Sotheby’s has released a teaser of the highly prized document, which alludes to “Ron...broom...sacked...house-elf...new...teacher...dies...sorry.”
The autographed statement is headed “Edinburgh 2002 -- Things I can tell you about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”
The other 69 words written by Rowling about the eagerly awaited fifth Harry Potter installment will only be disclosed to the buyer, who must purchase the paper sight unseen at the December 12 auction.
The famously publicity-shy Rowling agreed to the sale to raise money for Book Aid International, a charity that supplies books to the developing world.
Harry Potter fans have grown increasingly curious about the fate of their hero as the author has declined to publicly select a release date for The Order of the Phoenix.
The first Harry Potter book, published in 1997, was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, released in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The second and third volumes followed over the next two years, and the fourth, the mammoth Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, appeared in July 2000.
This naturally raised hopes that the fifth would follow at the same rate. But two summers have passed without a sign of Harry and his magic pals reappearing.
Rowling has repeatedly denied she is suffering from writer’s block and said there was never any intention of publishing book five in 2001.
In September, after a US federal court rejected claims by an American author that Rowling had stolen ideas from her own children’s books, Rowling said the stress of the lawsuit had hindered her progress.
“There’s a lot of book done. That’s all I want to say, because if I give it a date and then I pass it everyone will be upset,” she said in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview. “I know a lot of Harry Potter fans will say, ‘Just give it to us.’ But I’m a perfectionist and I want a bit more of a tweak.”
In the meantime, fans will have to make do with revisiting earlier installments in print and on film.
Source: ABS-CBN