In the world of Harry Potter, the Book of Spells is 200 years old and is written by Miranda Goshawk. This powerful spell book is kept in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. As a student at Hogwarts, chapter by chapter you will be able to read about and practise a variety of spells, picking up valuable experiences and lessons along the way.
Wonderbook is a new peripheral for PlayStation®3. Using the latest augmented reality technology, Wonderbook puts a physical book in your hands and will support a magical new range of games and reading experiences for the whole family to enjoy.
In addition, Andy House of Sony spoke about how they came up with the idea and how excited J.K. Rowling is about the collaboration.
Sony’s London Studio has been innovative in the past with peripherals like the EyeToy camera, what led to the Wonderbook? I think it was a natural progression, initially from EyeToy and then they built up some considerable strength in Augmented Reality – you may remember EyePet and Invizimals, which were really nice kid-friendly franchises that took full advantage of AR technology, and then it was a natural step to say: what if we combined that idea with some form of physical peripheral? And the intuition was that the most natural interface that we all know is a book.
At the same time, we had the partnership with [J.K. Rowling’s] Pottermore [online property], something I was involved with personally. It was a form of serendipity, we built a good relationship with Michael Denny who runs Sony’s UK studios and was looking for ways to extend the partnership and he said they’d got this rather nascent idea around books and reading and the use of AR.
The next step was to bring it to the attention of J.K. Rowling and she became very enthusiastic. She was marvellous in guiding us in a certain direction. Her view was that text is important and and that informed Book of Spells, we wanted to have this really interesting interaction with text itself so you’re getting children to enjoy the reading experience and getting something magical out of that.
You don’t think consumers will be put off by having to buy the book, perhaps a Move controller and Eye camera? The advantage of bringing this to market now is we have fairly mature technology in terms of the Playstation and controllers, we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to construct some competitive and compelling price points around it. The marketing challenge for us is to convey to people that this is a one-off investment you need to make, but once you’ve done that, there’s an opportunity to refresh it with other content at very affordable prices. If we’re able to bring bona fide educational content to them, then people will find that compelling.
JK Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is set to be exhibited at the British Library from 25 May and running until 9 September 2012. It is part of a larger exhibition entitled Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands and includes other visionaries, such as, John Lennon, JRR Tolkein, William Shakespeare and more! The description of the exhibition is as follows:
[…] explores treasures from the last 1000 years of English literature that have been shaped by the country’s unique spaces and places. From idyllic rural landscapes to gritty cities, the exhibition will showcase a literary map of the British Isles and highlight how writers, from William Shakespeare and Walter Scott to John Lennon and J K Rowling, have recorded the changing spaces of the British Isles in some of their greatest literary works, and in turn inspired their readers to explore the country in new ways.
Named as one of the highlights of the exhibition,
the original manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, lent by the author, describes Harry Potter’s first encounter with platform 9 ¾ in London’s King’s Cross station. Carefully avoiding the stopping trains via Cuffley and Bayford (strictly for Muggles only), he should pass between Platforms 9 and 10 to reach a magical passage to a fantastic parallel world. This manuscript is part of the exhibition’s ‘Cockney Visions’ section, looking at literature inspired by London.
On May 8th, J.K. Rowling is set to receive the Freemen of the City of London honour, meaning she will be an honorary citizen, for her services to children’s literature. Alderman David Wootton, Lord Mayor of the City of London, elaborated on his nomination by saying, “Her Freedom, which is bestowed on her for services to children’s literature, recognises two unique achievements – the astonishing success of the series, and the way in which Harry Potter’s adventures have not only enthralled book lovers, but also encouraged many young people to lose themselves in a book for the first time.” Jo had this to say of the honor:
Both my parents were Londoners. They met on a train departing from King’s Cross Station in 1964, and while neither of them ever lived in London again, both their daughters headed straight for the capital the moment that they were independent. To me, London is packed with personal memories, but it has never lost the aura of excitement and mystery that it had during trips to see family as a child.
I am prouder than I can say to be given the Freedom of the City, which, on top of all the known benefits (and few people realize this), entitles me to a free pint in The Leaky Cauldron and a ten Galleon voucher to spend in Diagon Alley.
Her Freedom ceremony will be held at The Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence and will begin with her reading aloud the Declaration of a Freeman, and end with her being greeted by Chris Bilsland, Chamberlain of London, as a ‘Citizen of London’ and the presentation of her framed parchment certificate.
Other notable honors JKR has received are an OBE for services to children’s literature, the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and the Légion d’Honneur.
In the FAQ section of her newly revamped website JK Rowling addresses the issue of the Harry Potter Encyclopedia, known as The Scottish Book for longtime Potter fans. She has been working on it since Deathly Hallows came out, so this is no big shock for fans. She says:
For a long time I have been promising an encyclopedia of Harry’s world, and I have started work on this now – some of it forms the new content in Pottermore. It is likely to be a time-consuming job, but when finished I shall donate all royalties to charity.
Fans should note that this doesn’t mean it will be released any time soon as she is probably working on other projects simultaneously. It could be many years before the book is published, but it will be well worth the wait!
JK Rowling’s website has been relaunched with a new design and information about her new book, which we learned about a short while ago. The book is entitled The Casual Vacancy, and will be released on Thursday, September 27th. A synopsis of the book is as follows:
“When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?”
JK Rowling’s Official Website has been given a totally new design and tells visitors that:
J.K. Rowling is to publish a new novel for adults.
Further details will be announced later in the year.
J.K. Rowling’s official website is currently being refreshed and redesigned, and will be relaunched later this Spring.
You can sign up for email updates and announcements. Additionally, The Blair Partnership has released a Press Release with some more information on the book’s release that quotes JKR as saying:
“Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life”
The book rights were bought by Little, Brown and Company in the UK and US and will be released in print and electronic form simultaneously.
Finally, The Associated Press has a new report online with some more information.
Rowling’s agent, Neil Blair, would not disclose financial details of the deal but said Thursday there had been no auction.
“As her new book is for a different audience, and marks a new literary direction for her, it made sense to separate the two and for her new book to be launched by a different publisher,” said Blair.
In a statement, Bloomsbury said its 15-year relationship with Rowling “remains stronger than ever” — and new editions of the seven Potter novels were on the way.
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