In a new interview with Hollywood Outbreak Rita Skeeter actress Miranda Richardson talks about the Harry Potter series and its popularity.  Head over to this page to listen to the audio, I have written out a transcript that you may read below:

“I shouldn’t be surprised by now I suppose, but I am constantly surprised.  I do think it’s great from a kids’ point of view because they are engaging in storytelling and character, and also books as well as film. My point is that she got them back reading, she’s not the only author that’s about reading, Phillip Pulman is another one, it doesn’t matter which way round they come to it, if they see the movies I think the kids still want to read the books or vice versa. You know they’ve read the books and want to see if the movies live up to the books and they want to be those people, have those qualities. There’s no harmful stuff in there, I don’t think.” 

Parade.com has made a quiz for fans to find out what Harry Potter character they are most like as part of their 30 Days of Harry Potter.  The quiz comprises of 10 questions and may be taken at their website, here.

I took the quiz and I am 60% Harry Potter, who are you?!

Thanks Mugglenet!

MTV have launched a “Harry Potter World Cup” which will have fans decide on the greatest character in the series! The cup is “a month-long tournament that will have you, the fans, voting to make your voice heard and determine who really is the greatest character in the entire Potterverse. 64 different competitors from all corners of J.K. Rowling’s expansive series will enter the ring, but in the end, only one will emerge as the wizarding world’s greatest champion.” The official bracket for the cup can be found here.

The Harry Potter World Cup Tournament Voting Schedule is as follows:
Round 1 – Monday, June 20th through Sunday, June 26th
Round 2 – Monday, June 27th through Thursday, June 30th at Midnight
Sweet 16 – Friday, July 1st through Tuesday, July 5th at Midnight
Elite 8 – Wednesday, July 6th through Thursday, July 7th at Midnight
Final 4 – Friday, July 8th through Sunday, July 10th at Midnight
Championship Round – Final 2 announced Monday, July 11th. Voting will continue up until the New York City premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.”

This afternoon Bloomsbury have emailed with an update on the Vote for your Favorite Harry Potter Character campaign they are having. Voting runs until Friday 26^th August 2011. The winning character will be announced on Tuesday 30^th August 2011.

“It’s been three weeks since we launched the vote to find the favourite Harry Potter character from the books and we have had an amazing 45,000 votes in that time. Information on the first three week’s worth of votes has come in and two characters are taking an early lead. I can’t tell you who they are but a certain boy wizard isn’t quite making the grade at the moment! Interesting votes for characters not on the list include Buckbeak, Fawkes, Fang and, with a single vote, the Fat Lady in the portrait at the entrance to Gryffindor!”

You can also take part in smaller quizzes and polls by joining the facebook page at www.facebook.com/HPUKbooks

The folks at Bloomsbury have emailed this morning telling us that they want YOUR opinion in a new poll.  They are asking fans around the world who their favorite character is, head over to this page to vote!  You can vote for characters such as Neville, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Kreacher, Sirius, Luna, Snape, Fred, George etc. Read the full press release here.

“Over the course of seven bestselling books Harry Potter has met a huge cast of incredible characters. Bloomsbury has drawn up a list of 40 of those characters which can be found on the home page of www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter where visitors can vote. If a character is missing, then there is also the opportunity to add your favourite. The poll opens on Monday 16th May 2011 and runs until Friday 26^th August 2011. The winning character will be announced on Tuesday 30^th August 2011. The poll will be supported by regular Facebook updates.”

Update: There is a little error in the code that is causing some of the characters to be non-clickable. I’ve emailed Bloomsbury and hopefully they’ll fix it soon so you can vote properly!

I’m sure many of you are aware by now, but in case you are not I figured I would post this fun news. The Official Harry Potter store at the WB Shop is offering fans the chance to get their own Hogwarts Acceptance Letter! So if you didn’t get yours on your 11th birthday now is your chance.  They cost $24.95 and can be personalized with your name (or anything you wish to put there.) Use the link below to go to the shop and purchase!