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ISSN No. 1095-3973
Volume 9, Issue 5.
In This Issue:
J.K. Rowling and the Extraordinary Life
She was only 32 when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
was published in Great Britain by Bloomsbury; she turned 40
on July 31, 2005, and now has an estimated net worth of $1 billion, according
to Forbes magazine, who lists her as one of the most powerful
women in the world. The Harry Potter books have sold 270 million copies
in 62 languages worldwide. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
sold 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours of release
and is the largest-ever product debut on Amazon.com.
The new book has already generated over $100 million in revenue.
It made more money than its primary competitor on the release weekend:
the Johnny Depp film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
When movie executives are worried about a book release hurting ticket sales,
that's when you know something extraordinary has happened.
But how did this shy, bookish British girl grow
into the polished, savvy media mogul that she is today? It is truly an
extraordinary story: Joanne Kathleen Rowling had a happy childhood. But
after college, a series of tragedies struck her life. She has said that
she values courage most of all and that is a trait that she has in abundance.
Claire E. White explores the life of J.K. Rowling is this exclusive feature,
"J.K. Rowling and the Extraordinary Life."
The IWJ's Harry Potter Links Page
For Harry Potter fans, the Internet is a fantastic resource. We've selected what
we think are the best resources for Harry Potter on the Web. We've also configured
searches for you, so you can easily keep up with all the latest breaking Harry
Potter news. This should be enough to keep you busy until Book 7! Happy Reading!
What's New On The Bookshelves?
Visit our
Book
Review section to see what our reviewers have to say about the
latest books. See our new reviews this month in these genres:
children's, fantasy/SF, lifestyle, mystery/thriller and romance.
Rhyme or Reason: Part 4
In her latest article, Mary Dawson continues
her series on rhymes. Mary examines some interesting, alternative rhyme patterns
that will give you creative options to use when you need contrast, or when
you simply get stuck with a word that is too difficult to rhyme.
The Road Not Taken
Author Nancy Geary asked herself what would have happened if she had chosen a
different path? Would she have another agent or none at all? Would she ever have
been published? In this author essay, Nancy explains how thinking about her life
decisions helped inspire her latest novel,
Being Mrs. Alcott (Warner Books), which was focuses on the question
of "accident or fate" versus "choice or free will."
Storytelling
Robert Lacey, a British historian and bestselling author
who has been a frequent guest on shows
like Larry King Live, explains why he still loves history even
after he discovered its imperfections. He explains why when telling history
it is important to remember to tell a story -- to both illuminate and
entertain. Lacey's latest book is called,
Great Tales From English History (Little, Brown).
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