Scholastic has announced some details about their new website relaunch that I posted about earlier.  You can read the full press release here and a bit below.

“All of us who experienced the anticipation and excitement of the publication of each of the seven Harry Potter books over the years saw firsthand the power of this series to excite readers of all ages. Each year, new young readers are beginning their Hogwarts journey, and we want to provide a truly memorable and magical experience they can call their own,” said Ellie Berger, President of Trade Publishing, Scholastic.

Beginning April 1, 2010, retail locations and Scholastic’s Book Clubs and Book Fairs will share in The Real Magic of Harry Potter with special promotions. Retail stores will support the campaign with, point-of-sale signage, floor displays promoting the sweepstakes, and a special offer at participating retailers of “buy a copy of any Harry Potter paperback, and get the second copy at half price” for the month of April.

There is also a commercial that you can watch below:

Bloomsbury’s official website reveals that they will be releasing a “Celebratory Edition” of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows due to be released in October:

The [seventh] book in this award-winning and phenomenally bestselling series, this time in a bright, colourful and starry edition to celebrate the phenomenal international sales of Harry Potter.

The weird thing is, the description of the story is for Half-Blood Prince.  Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows are the only books without celebratory editions, so, this could either be the Celebratory Edition of either of them.  You can buy the other celebratory editions here on amazon.co.uk or here on amazon.com!

Thanks Mugglenet!

According to The San Fransisco Chronicle, Mary GrandPre, the Illustrator of the Harry Potter books in the US, will be the keynote speaker at the The Girls’ Middle School Annual Scholarship Breakfast. The event will be held on Wednesday, Apr 28 8:00am to 9:15am at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Cabana in Palo Alto, CA.

The Girls’ Middle School announces its Annual Scholarship Breakfast, “Step Into the Magic.” This event raises scholarship support for high-achieving, low-income girls in the Bay Area.

Keynote speaker, Mary GrandPre, is a world-renowned illustrator best known for bringing Harry Potter to life through her brilliant illustrations. She created the images that traced Harry’s journey through adolescence, and in the process shaped the world’s image of the book’s hero.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased starting today by going to this link.

You can also pay $10 for a raffle ticket to win all 7 book signed by Mary! There are a number of different seating options, some include signed books and illustrations from Mary and VIP seating.

UPDATE: I contacted the school to ask if anyone can enter the raffle for signed books and they have let me know that anyone can enter the raffle as long as they live in the United States!  They also said that “It may be of interest to you and other Harry Potter fans to learn that Mary has said that in addition to signing the books, she may draw a small illustration in each, making them even more valuable!”

Scholastic has announced, by way of a new landing page for their Potter section, that they are doing a total redesign of the Harry Potter section!

“New Harry Potter Online Experience coming soon! Come back in two weeks to discover the magic of the Harry Potter books and demonstrate your wizarding skills.”

You can also enter to win a trip for you and 3 guests to the Harry Potter theme park (if you are aged 7-14!) Go here to enter it! You must enter by June 1st and there will be four winners!

Thanks Mugglenet!

If you recall, last month I posted about an upcoming book entitled Harry Potter Power.  Today we have some more information to share. It is going to be launched on 26th March 2010 in Cairns – tropical Far North Queensland, Australia – at at an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Gallery called ‘Canopy Artspace’ in town.

The book’s information page has been updated with a preview of the book, view that here.

A new Harry Potter related book by Dr Julie-Anne Sykley will be released this coming March.  The book is called Harry Potter Power and is a “fun and friendly self-help book uses ideas/situations from Harry’s world to help people be happier, healthier, and deal with stuff like depression, anxiety, anger, and suicidal thinking.” Dr Julie has also answered a couple questions for us, sort of a mini-interview:

You can visit the book’s mini site here to learn more and to purchase the book!  Also, here is the book’s page on Amazon, should you wish to find out when they will have it available.