Pottermore's Magical Quill Challenge Begins July 31

The Pottermore Insider Blog and website have been updated this blog post and link, revealing more about J. K. Rowling's latest project:

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted the hidden link in our 'You ask, we answer' blog post from 19 July, which took you to an interview J.K. Rowling gave in 2000.

In the interview was some interesting information about a Magical Quill, located in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Magical Quill detects the birth of a magical child and writes their name down in a large book. 

Every year, Professor McGonagall checks the book and sends owls to the children who are turning eleven, to inform themthat they have a place at Hogwarts. Each day for seven days, from 31 July to 6 August, we will be placing a clue on the Pottermore homepage to help you locate The Magical Quill. If you find it, you'll have the chance to gain early access to Pottermore.

There will be a new clue every day, and each clue will relate to a different book in the Harry Potter series. On Day 1 the clue will relate to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on Day 2 the clue will relate to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and so forth. The clues will also vary in difficulty. On Days 1-3 the clues will be harder, and on Days 4-7 the clues will be easier.

To find The Magical Quill, you need to solve the clue and add the answer to the end of the web address. This will lead you to a website where The Magical Quill will be located while early access places are available. The Magical Quill's location will change every day.

Example

Clue: How many books are there in the Harry Potter series? Multiply this number by 10.

Answer: 70

Add this number to the end of the website address. (In this case it would be http://quill.pottermore.com/70)

Hit 'Return' to go to the website where The Magical Quill is located.

Once you have found The Magical Quill, you will be redirected to Pottermore.com. If the registration process is still open for that day, you will be able to submit your details to register to access Pottermore early.

It's important to note that finding The Magical Quill does not guarantee you access to registration, as registration will only remain openwhile the early access places allocated for the relevant day, between 31 July to 6 August, are available.

Don't worry if you don’t manage to register first time. There will be plenty of opportunities to find The Magical Quill as we will be revealing a new clue each day from 31 July to 6 August. For those who miss out on earlyaccess to Pottermore, please note the site will be open to all from October. Keep visiting Pottermore to find out when registration commences.

We won't be telling you when a clue goes live, so you'll need to keep a careful eye on Pottermore.com over the seven-day period. However, we will let you know, via Pottermore.com and the Insider, when registration for a particular day has come to an end.

Finally, please note that we will not be enabling early access to the site straight away. Once The Magical Quill challenge is over, we will send successful early access registrants a Welcome email, letting them know whenthey will be able to access Pottermore. We won’t be able to let everyone into the Beta site at the same time, so please be patient with us. You may have to wait a few weeks for your Welcome email to arrive.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Google, Pottermore Team Up to Provide Fans Unique Ebook Experience

When Pottermore officially launches in October of this year, Google will allow fans to make the most of their ebook experience.

"Pottermore and Google are teaming up to integrate Pottermore with a number of Google products and APIs. So when the series of Harry Potter ebooks launches on Pottermore.com in early October, these bestsellers will be available in the U.S. via the open Google eBooks platform. When you buy a Harry Potter ebook from Pottermore, you will be able to choose to keep it in your Google Books library in-the-cloud, as well as on other e-reading platforms."

Google eBooks can be read on most devices and Google Checkout will be the preferred third-party payment for all purchases on Pottermore.com.

Additionally, expect more videos to be put on YouTube similar to J.K. Rowling's big announcement on June 23.

(SOURCE: MUGGLENET)

Pottermore Launches Official Blog: The Pottermore Insider

Announced this morning on the Pottermore Twitter account, the Pottermore Insider is a new blog being maintained by members of the website's team in order to bring fans the latest news and updates and answer questions.

The first blog post features a photo of the Pottermore sign being unwrapped ahead of J.K. Rowling's announcement last month. The Pottermore Insider will be updated regularly before the site launches into beta mode on July 31. If you haven't already done so, don't forget to register your e-mail at Pottermore.com for a chance to be included in the beta launch!

Excerpt from blog:

Written by members of the Pottermore team, the Insider is here to bring you the latest news and updates on all things Pottermore, and to answer any questions you may have.

We’ll be here with you as we get ready for 31 July, and we’ll be posting fairly regularly, so remember to check back every now and then, or add us to your RSS feed so you don’t miss out on anything.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Pottermore Announcement: Details on J. K. Rowling's Next Harry Potter Project; Video, Pictures, Press Conference Quotes

Update: J. K. Rowling's Pottermore announcement video released: WATCH HERE or below. Pottermore screenshots and publicity photos here. Info as we get it:

• Pottermore is an interactive new Web site and reading experience with more than 18,000 new words from J.K. Rowling: Much more to come.
• JKR behind the scenes filming the video picture.
• An online experience to read, interact with and share the Harry Potter stories. Exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling and more.
• Pottermore will feature information J.K. Rowling has been "hoarding" for years about Harry Potter.
• Pottermore will be the exclusive place to purchase the digital audio books and, at last, eBooks of the Harry Potter series.
• Pottermore was developed in association with the leading digital company, @th_nktweets
• Pottermore was also created in partnership with @sony!
• One million fans will get access to a beta on July 31, Harry's birthday. It will be open for all in October 2011.
• The launch of Pottermore will have more than 18,000 words from J.K. Rowling, but that is only a third of what she has written so far.
• J.K. Rowling said this morning that there is a lot more content to come for the Pottermore site, and she will develop it as it grows.
• This morning J.K. Rowling said that she and Harry have a "casual relationship," instead of the serious kind they once had.
• "I've never cried over a man as much as I've cried over Harry." - JKR 
• The idea came from a conv. with her agent about how to help Harry live on in today's digital age.
• JKR downloaded eBooks for the 1st time this year and loved it - "a thousand books in your pocket" - tho she loves paper.
• You will follow the story, get sorted into a house and get a wand (one of 33,000 possible combinations) - all crafted by JKR.
• JKR is excited to include a long backstory on McGonagall - her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak...
• A lot of the Pottermore team is Hufflepuff, which JKR said is what "you want in a team - they're workers!"
• JKR said if you're not sorted into Gryffindor you get even more exclusive content about your house.
• Chamber of Secrets story to debut in 2012. 
• Also shown this morning, there will be info on Minerva McGonagall's long friendship with Dumbledore
• A lot of the Pottermore team is Hufflepuff, which JKR said is what "you want in a team - they're workers!"
• A physical encyclopedia may come one day, JKR said, but she is not positive.
• Also mentioned that Vernon ad Petunia met at work, backstory also on Pottermore.
• JKR on Pottermore: "I've worked with the most incredible team at TH_NK to make it come alive."

Update 2: Scholastic, the US publishers of the Harry Potter books, has issued a press release, they say:

Scholastic is proud to be a key partner in the Pottermore project, including connecting teachers and parents from our school and online channels directly to ebook sales via Pottermore and providing marketing and promotion support. We’re excited about the new content from J.K. Rowling to go along with the books. This will surely inspire more interest in the series and bring a whole new generation of readers to Harry Potter. We’re pleased to support Pottermore because we know the power of the Harry Potter books to turn kids into lifelong readers, and we believe every child should experience Harry Potter – whether in ebooks or in print. In addition, Scholastic will receive a royalty on sales of the U.S. editions of the ebooks.

Update 3: JKRowling.com, the author's official website, has been updated to note the announcement of Pottermore.  The update, posted in the News section, reads:

You may have recently noticed a number of owls on various websites leading you to a YouTube film, where I have announced my latest, exciting piece of news.

POTTERMORE is a new web site, where you can enjoy an online experience based around the Harry Potter books, which includes exclusive new information from me. If you would like to see the announcement film please click here.

Whilst you'll hear more from me on pottermore.com at the moment, jkrowling.com remains my own personal website for various content such as updated biography and bibliography, and links to relevant organisations, including the charities I support.

The AP was on hand at the press conference this morning. Photos can be seen here.

The owls continue to gather as the countdown ticks closer to the release of Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling's anticipated announcement on Pottermore, her latest Harry Potter project.  As we reported yesterday, press conference is said to be set for Victoria and Albert Museum this afternoon (UK time) regarding Ms. Rowling's announcement.  Leaky will have up to the minute updates on Pottermore so stay close!

Full press release below:

J.K. Rowling today, Thursday 23rd June, answered mounting speculation about the nature of her new project and announced Pottermore, a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of her hugely successful Harry Potter books, and is partnered by Sony.  

The announcement today was heralded by the revealing of the website’s name via an online search for its letters, and a ‘coming soon’ holding page which received over a million visits within 36 hours of launching.

For this groundbreaking collaborative project, J.K. Rowling has written extensive new material about the characters, places and objects in the much-loved stories, which will inform, inspire and entertain readers as they journey through the storylines of the books. Pottermore will later incorporate an online shop where people can purchase exclusively the long-awaited Harry Potter eBooks, in partnership with J.K. Rowling’s publishers worldwide, and is ultimately intended to become an online reading experience, extending the relevance of Harry Potter to new generations of readers, while still appealing to existing fans. As the Pottermore Shop develops, it is intended that it should include further products designed specifically for Harry Potter fans, offering a potential outlet for Sony products and services related to Pottermore. In keeping with Harry Potter’s international appeal, the site will launch in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with more languages to follow.

In the new website, the storyline will be brought to life with sumptuous newly-commissioned illustrations and interactive ‘Moments’ through which you can navigate, starting with the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone. On entering, you choose a magic username and begin your experience.  As you move through the chapters, you can read and share exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling, and, just as Harry joins Hogwarts, so can you. You visit Diagon Alley, get sorted into a house, cast spells and mix potions to help your house compete for the House Cup.

At a press conference at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Rowling revealed some key features of the website. In an announcement which will thrill fans, she described how she has brought to life both the Sorting Hat and Ollivanders experiences from her books for the first time on Pottermore, by revealing the questions asked by the Sorting Hat - which places newcomers into their Hogwarts houses according to their characteristics -  and the magic behind the Wand Chooser – which finds the right wand for each user from over 33,000 possible combinations. She also revealed glimpses of the new information she has provided on some of the best-loved characters.

J.K. Rowling’s announcement on YouTube and sony.com today revealed that Pottermore (along with the Pottermore Shop) will be open to all users in October 2011.  From today, 23rd June, fans can submit their email addresses on Pottermore.com in order to be contacted by the site following the opening of registration on 31st July, Harry’s birthday.  Also on that date, an online challenge will be launched, whereby the first million people to complete their registration will gain early entry into the website, and help put final touches to the experience.

J.K. Rowling commented,

“I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation.  I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have. Just as I have contributed to the website, everyone else will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment – Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site.”

Pottermore has been made possible with the support and partnership of Sony.  

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sony Corporation, commented:

“Sony's association with J.K. Rowling's Pottermore brings together one of the world’s most innovative brands with the most successful book series in history, in a pioneering partnership that will help shape the future of story-telling. We are proud to be a part of it, both at this momentous announcement, and as we collaborate on its development over the coming years.”

On Sony’s partnership of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling commented:

“As I think people know, I am very protective of Harry and have always been very selective with any new initiatives, but I am totally committed to making this partnership with Sony and this wonderful new website a success. There are many companies I could have worked with on this ultimate digital expression of Harry Potter’s universe, but it is Sony’s unique philosophy of creativity in harmony with technology that made them my first choice as main partner. The spirit behind Sony’s make.believe philosophy is one that rings true with Pottermore’s own values.”

The detailed creative execution has been led by TH_NK, a leading UK digital agency, under the supervision of J.K. Rowling and the Pottermore management team, in co-operation with Sony. J.K. Rowling’s publishers, Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the USA, as well as her international publishers worldwide, have been active supporters in the creation of pottermore.com and the Pottermore Shop. Warner Bros, the makers of the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise, is also one of the partners who have worked to support the launch of Pottermore through a variety of marketing, promotional and other efforts, and will continue to collaborate as the project grows.

The storyline of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will go live on the site in early 2012. The Pottermore Shop opens when the site opens to all in October, selling complete ranges of the eBooks and digital audiobooks in a selection of languages, exclusively.

Designed for fans of all ages, the website has been created with child safety in mind, employing best practice and compliance with internet codes of practice in the UK, Europe and USA, and elsewhere.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

JK Rowling Launches New Secret Harry Potter Project

It looks like there could be more magic on the way for Harry Potter fans!

A mysterious new website has popped up promoting a top secret project by author JK Rowling, called Pottermore.

It seems the owls are gathering for a big announcement at 12 noon on 23 June 2011, when JK will let us all in on the secrets behind Pottermore.

Fans are already VERY excited about what it all means. We have no idea, but we can tell you that it's NOT a new Potter book.

A spokeswoman for JK also said it's not directly related to the final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which is being released in July.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

JK Rowling Reveals Pottermore! (JK Rowling's Secret Street View)

Update: Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has revealed that the title of the mysterious project we've been following this afternoon is called POTTERMORE. Confirmation came via the projects Twitter account,@Pottermore. This news also completes the speculation of what the last letter of the project would be. Updates coming! Stay close and be sure to follow Pottermore!

The Twitter account has been updated to link to this website: www.Pottermore.com.

Update 2: As a follow up, I was lucky enough to get a preview of @Pottermore recently and it is breathtaking. More details will arrive shortly, so do stay close for the latest on Pottermore.

Following the completion of the seven Harry Potter books and eight films, J.K. Rowling has something new to announce. Even though this is not a new book, we have been informed it is something equally exciting.

As a teaser before the official announcement, ten letters have been hidden on the website below for you to find. To locate them you need to find ten sets of coordinates, enter them into the search box one set at a time, and take a look around.

This is the first coordinate: 42.523356,-70.890698

The rest will be revealed among nine other Harry Potter fan sites at intervals throughout the 15th and 16th of June 2011. Find the coordinates, enter them on the site below and you could be one of the first to piece the word together.

(Please note - These letters are magic, therefore do not exist in the real world...) Good luck to you all.

www.secretstreetview.com

If you're having trouble finding the clue, simply zoom in on the map so you enter the street view!

Other sites with coordinates: MuggleNet, Harry Potter Xperts,
Hpana, Bloghogwarts.com, Snitchseeker.com, Portkey.it, Universharrypotter.com, Clubedoslugue.com.
We now have a fill listing of coordinates from the sites. The letters are: T E O R P E T R O.

Many people are suggesting both "MORE POTTER" AND "POTTERMORE."

What do you think?

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Pottermore Speculation Continues

Last night, ten map coordinates were scattered across nine fan sites and one official Twitter account, revealing letters that spelled out P-O-T-T-E-R-M-O-R-E. The speculation started here with the first letter revealed on Leaky, leading to confirmation that Pottermore is actually J.K. Rowling's newest project. So here is all the latest:

-Leaky has seen a preview of Pottermore and it is, in a word, breathtaking. That is all we are permitted to say at the moment.

-There is an Twitter account, @pottermore as well as a live domain: pottermore.com, which only features J.K. Rowling's signature and a "coming soon" notice.

-Sites overnight have been speculating on images that were posted on the fan site Clubedoslugue.com: These are old images that have been going around for months, and are not Pottermore.

-There has also been a lot of discussion around the trademark information on the word Pottermore. The info, which was registered in 2009, says that Pottermore is trademarked for, among other things, multiple-user networks, online boards, digital audio, printed books, toys, retail stores, and more, and more, and more - in short, pretty much everything. We don't feel this gives much direction one way or the other.

-Stay tuned to Leaky here or at our twitter, @Leaky for all the info!

 (SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)