Rowling To Sell Hints On Upcoming 'Potter' Book

  November 25, 2002 at 7:01 PM ET
      UKHarryPotter
 


How much would you pay for a few hints on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? :D&br;&br;&br;LONDON - How much is someone willing to pay to find out what happens to boy wizard Harry Potter in the next installment of his adventures? &br;&br;London auction house Sothebys reckons about £6,000, or US$9,400. &br;&br;That is its estimated price for a 93-word handwritten document by author JK Rowling that reveals the outline of the plot of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. &br;&br;Sothebys has released a teaser of the highly prized document, which alludes to Ron...broom...sacked...house-elf...new...teacher...dies...sorry. &br;&br;The autographed statement is headed Edinburgh 2002 -- Things I can tell you about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. &br;&br;The other 69 words written by Rowling about the eagerly awaited fifth Harry Potter installment will only be disclosed to the buyer, who must purchase the paper sight unseen at the December 12 auction. &br;&br;The famously publicity-shy Rowling agreed to the sale to raise money for Book Aid International, a charity that supplies books to the developing world. &br;&br;Harry Potter fans have grown increasingly curious about the fate of their hero as the author has declined to publicly select a release date for The Order of the Phoenix. &br;&br;The first Harry Potter book, published in 1997, was Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, released in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. The second and third volumes followed over the next two years, and the fourth, the mammoth Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, appeared in July 2000. &br;&br;This naturally raised hopes that the fifth would follow at the same rate. But two summers have passed without a sign of Harry and his magic pals reappearing. &br;&br;Rowling has repeatedly denied she is suffering from writers block and said there was never any intention of publishing book five in 2001. &br;&br;In September, after a US federal court rejected claims by an American author that Rowling had stolen ideas from her own childrens books, Rowling said the stress of the lawsuit had hindered her progress. &br;&br;Theres a lot of book done. Thats all I want to say, because if I give it a date and then I pass it everyone will be upset, she said in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview. I know a lot of Harry Potter fans will say, Just give it to us. But Im a perfectionist and I want a bit more of a tweak. &br;&br;In the meantime, fans will have to make do with revisiting earlier installments in print and on film. &br;&br;Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second movie in the series, opened a week ago. &br;&br;&br;:: CBS News.com&br;&br;
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