Harry Potter Fictional Character

Last week, sales of the four "Harry Potter" books hit 43 million. Already No. 1 on every major bestseller list, the newest title, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," also is history's fastest-selling book. Warner Bros. is preparing a "Harry Potter" film, cast with unknowns. Potterisms, terms found only in these volumes, have entered the broad vernacular. (Don't stand for it if someone likens you to Draco Malfoy.

For some people the Harry Potter books made for good beach reading, but for others they inspired a call to social activism. Andrew Slack, the 29-year-old director of the nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance, sits firmly in the second camp.

For some people the Harry Potter books made for good beach reading, but for others they inspired a call to social activism. Andrew Slack, the 29-year-old director of the nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance, sits firmly in the second camp.

NEW YORK -- Author J.K. Rowling and the maker of the "Harry Potter" films are suing a small publisher in Michigan over its plans to release a book version of a popular website dedicated to the boy wizard. The suit, filed last week by the author and Warner Bros. in federal court in Manhattan, claims that RDR Books will infringe on Rowling's intellectual-property rights if it goes ahead with its plan to publish the 400-page "Harry Potter Lexicon" on Nov. 28.

The San Diego Public Library has ordered an unprecedented 300 copies of the new Harry Potter book to meet expected demand. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth book in the popular series featuring the boy wizard and his friends, is set for release Saturday.

There was feasting (cherry licorice and gum balls). There were trivia games with contestants screaming the answers. Faces were painted with red lightning bolts above the bridge of the nose. The fashion accessory of choice: a pair of black-rimmed, round glasses. Then, as the giddy crowd gathered round, the countdown to midnight began. Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! BONGGGGG! A gong was struck. The crowd cheered.

A federal judge has rejected a writer's claims that she was plagiarized by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and in turn fined her $50,000, saying she perpetuated a fraud. U.S. District Judge Allen G. Schwartz found only minimal similarities between the multimillion-selling fantasy series and books by author Nancy Stouffer. "The court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Stouffer has perpetuated a fraud ...

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling said Friday that one of her characters will not survive the next book in her series about the young wizard. Asked on her official website whether she planned to kill off any more characters, Rowling replied, "Yes, sorry." But she refused to identify that character. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," is due to be published next year.

This holiday season is still a long way off for parents, but toy makers already are placing wagers on what games, puzzles and dolls children will be begging for come Christmas 2001. The two-word favorite? Harry Potter. At its annual pre-toy fair show, Mattel Inc. worked to build excitement and sales by offering retail toy buyers a sneak peek at the company's top-secret toys of the future, including its hotly anticipated Harry Potter products. Along with Rhode Island-based Hasbro Inc.

THE Harry Potter books are usually viewed alongside the children's and young adult world that they grew out of and radically reshaped. When viewed in literary terms, though, J.K. Rowling's novels stand up pretty well, book critics say, and in some ways go refreshingly against the grain of much of contemporary fiction.

Private school is having a fashion moment. Buttoned blazers, knee socks, crested sweaters, university-striped scarves, rep ties -- all those stodgy restrictions of self-expression are looking like high style this fall. From the Balenciaga runway to the pages of theJ. Crew catalog, designers are turning the preppy uniform into something actually cool and wearable. Why do we feel so ready for it, after a summer of free-flowing style? Maybe it's the Harry Potter effect. Call it "Hogwarts Chic."

Scholastic Inc., the U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling's fantasy series, announced that the seventh and final installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," sold 11.5 million copies in its first 10 days and that an original printing of 12 million has been increased to 14 million. "Deathly Hallows," released July 21, continues to top best-seller lists and has revived interest in the previous books. Total sales for the series have topped 350 million copies worldwide.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Sometimes it's a hassle being Harry Potter. Especially when you're a 78-year-old man who happens to share the name of a certain fictional boy wizard who is famous the world over. Each time a new Harry Potter book or movie comes out, Bradenton resident Harry Potter starts getting phone calls from children, interview requests from the TV networks and autograph requests. "The kids want to know if I'm Harry Potter," he said.

For everyone in the business of getting kids into books, Harry Potter remains a phenomenon. It was a revelation that fourth- through seventh-graders would read 600- and 800-page books, let alone re-read them. That they would stand in line in the middle of the night -- in costume! -- to buy a book. That they would endlessly trade details of the lives of fictional characters, as if they were popular classmates or sports stars.

J.K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series, said she plans to write an encyclopedia about the boy wizard and his magical world. Rowling, whose seventh and final Potter novel hit stores Saturday, plans to use 17 years of notes to supply details that didn't make it into the stories, she said in an interview with Meredith Vieira on NBC's "Today" show that begins airing today. NBC released excerpts Tuesday.

It is the richest going-away party in history. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to Scholastic Inc. No other book, not even any of the six previous Potters, has disappeared so quickly. "Deathly Hallows" averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales an hour -- more than 5,000 a minute. The $34.

Mary GrandPre sounds just like a parent when she talks about Harry. She sees herself in him -- a little bit in the eyes, something in the line of his jaw. But that lightning bolt-shaped scar? Hey, that's not from her side of the family. The Harry in question? Harry Potter, of course. GrandPre is the artist behind the images of Harry seen on the American versions of the books by author J.K. Rowling. Her latest cover, for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," was released Tuesday.

YOU can't really have a full-blown media event without some sort of knotty media controversy. Today's release of the seventh and final installment in J.K. Rowling's magically successful series of novels for young people certainly qualifies as the former; let's call the latter: "Harry Potter and the Inevitably Leaky Embargo."

If ever there was a global party, this was it. The lines began forming outside London and Paris bookstores early in the morning Friday -- hours before Los Angeles readers woke up -- and the scene was repeated across the United States as Harry Potter fans gathered for midnight bashes to celebrate the release of J.K. Rowling's final installment in the blockbuster series: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." In England, at 12:01 a.m.