Fresh off her global Olympics cameo reading an excerpt of “Peter Pan” to the bazillion viewers who gaped at the London 2012 Games Opening Ceremony, author J.K. Rowling now gets to turn her attention back to her own magic-fueled kid-lit fantasy that ended up spanning a few generations: Harry Potter.
Rowling earlier this year announced she's writing a book for adults, her first foray beyond the Potter Empire that has kept her busy since Harry hit bookshelves back in 1997. Moving on from Potter publisher Bloomsbury with the move, Rowling stated, "The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life."
The last Potter book came out in June of 2007, and the last movie last year, but Rowling can't quit Harry — not just yet.
In addition to promoting e-book sales via her Pottermore website, Harry's American publisher, Scholastic, just announced that Rowling will interact with fans via a live webcast in October that will serve as the launch pad for the Harry Potter Reading Club.
The Club will serve as an “online destination created to share the magical world of Harry Potter with a generation of new readers,” according to Scholastic, and feature interactive content, community activities, and new writing from Rowling — making it a kind of Pottermore lite, although the Scholastic Potter portal promotes Pottermore (say that five times quickly!)
Rowling hasn’t taken questions from kids since 2007 and the October 11 webcast will be broadcast from her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hope is that it won’t just be kids showing up in the reading club, but also educators, librarians, and all those folks who will continue to stoke the Potter interest (and, dare we say it, dollars) for generations to come.
To help get some attendees signed up right away, Scholastic is offering a welcome kit for the first 10,000 registrants that includes bookmarks, name tags, and stickers. In the meantime, Rowling is hoping she can demonstrate to her fans that she's still wild about — but not limited to — Harry.
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