J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling

JKR pens 800-word 'Harry Potter' prequel for British charities

  May 28, 2008 at 9:43 PM ET
  Geri     Yahoo! News (via Chicago Sun-Times)
  jkr, j.k. rowling, jo rowling, harry potter series, harry potter prequel


Author J.K. Rowling has penned an 800-word Harry Potter prequel with all proceeds from an auction on June 10th going to English PENopens in new window, the writers’ association, and Dyslexia Actionopens in new window.

According to the articleopens in new window:

Waterstone’s Booksellers Ltd. says the cream-colored A5 papers — each slightly bigger than a postcard — were distributed to 13 authors and illustrators, including the boy wizard’s creator J.K. Rowling, Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, novelist Margaret Atwood and playwright Tom Stoppard.

Rowling used both sides of her card to hand-write a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga, while Lessing penned a story about the power of reading. Stoppard wrote a short mystery and Atwood was due to fill out her card remotely using a robotic arm controlled by computer linkup.

Organizers refused to comment on the content of Rowling’s Harry Potter prequel, but Hogwarts fans hoping for another book to add to their collection may be disappointed by her signoff.

"From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!" Rowling wroteopens in new window.

Copies of the cards will be put into a book and made available at Waterstonesopens in new window and online in August.

UPDATE: Thanks to Jon for letting us know that the prequel will be aboutopens in new window "the fictional wizard's father James and his friend Sirius Black in their younger years."

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