Bloomsbury has launched a fun new contest, Unlock Lockhart, where fans can help to unlock an illustration of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart from the new Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition. The new edition of the book will be released on October 4h. They will Jim Kay’s charming image of Professor Lockhart in three stages and will be giving away three copies of the book too! For a chance to win, share #UnlockLockhart on Twitter or Facebook. Read the terms and conditions here.

Unlock this exclusive illustration of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart by Jim Kay!

On October 4, 2016 we are releasing J.K. Rowling’s
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition, but you can get a first look at Jim Kay’s celebrity wizard here.

Share more. Unlock more.

#UnlockLockhart

J.K. Rowling revealed a new limited edition tshirt at this weekend’s Lumos Gala performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The ‘Be the Light’ T-shirts feature inspirational words from the author’s Very Good Lives Harvard commencement speech in 2008: “We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already”. They are available to buy now at www.represent.com/lumos. At least 60% of the retail price will go to support Lumos programmes around the world.

The author addressed an audience of Harry Potter fans of all ages prior to the special gala performance to benefit Lumos, the non-profit organisation she founded to help end the institutionalisation of children globally by 2050.

“Children need, deserve and have a right to families,” she said. “Thank you, from everyone at Lumos, for helping us achieve our ambition of bringing eight million children back into the light. It is, to paraphrase Albus Dumbledore, not easy, but it is right.”

Thanks to the generosity of the play’s producers – Sonia Friedman, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions – and Lumos’ 100% Pledge, all funds raised at the gala performance will go directly to Lumos’ work to transform the lives of some of the world’s most disadvantaged children. The special gala performance today is one of a series of events in the We Are Lumos Worldwide global campaign to raise awareness and urge people to get involved with the non-profit organisation’s work to bring the hidden children to light and get them home to families. The campaign was officially launched with a Facebook Live interview the previous evening (Saturday 17 September) between J.K. Rowling and writer and broadcaster, Lauren Laverne.

Poppy Miller, Paul Thornley, Stuart Ramsey, Sam Clemmett, J.K. Rowling, Anthony Boyle, Noma Dumezweni, and Alex Price. Photo by Dave Benett / Getty Image for Lumos.

Jo also took part in a Facebook Live video to talk about Lumos and their new initiative this past weekend. The interview marks the official launch of We Are Lumos Worldwide; a global campaign to raise awareness of the eight million children living in orphanages around the world, and the work that Lumos is doing to help them return to family life.

Merchoid, the official movie merchandise retailer, has unveiled its collection of official t-shirts and hoodies based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The collection reveals sneak previews of what to expect in the film, featuring artwork from MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America)  fictional magazines “The American Charmer” and “The Witch’s Friend” and more. All of the products in the collection are available to preorder now from Merchoid from £15.99/€23,99/$24.99 and will ship on 20th October 2016.

Speaking about the new collection, Merchoid’s Community Manager Jessica Adams says “If you’re excited to see the next step in the Harry Potter cinematic universe and want to know more about fantastic shirts and where to buy them, look no further. Our new official collection of Fantastic Beasts clothing is available to preorder from Merchoid.com now and ships in October.”

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CineConcerts and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, a new global concert tour celebrating the Harry Potter films, earlier this year.  This coming March, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and New Jersey Performing Arts Center will perform Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert. The concert will take place on Saturday, March 11, 2017, at 2 pm at NJPAC in Newark.

The NJSO will perform, to picture, every note from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™. Audiences will be able to relive the magic of the film in high-definition while hearing the orchestra perform Oscar winner John Williams’ unforgettable score.

Tickets for the performance at NJPAC go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 16, at 10 am. A special presale for NJSO and NJPAC email subscribers will begin on Wednesday, September 14, at 10 am. Tickets range in price from $29 to $89 and will be available for purchase from the NJSO online at www.njsymphony.org or by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476). They will be available for purchase from NJPAC online at www.njpac.org or by phone at 1.888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).

Announcing the tour, Justin Freer, President of CineConcerts and Producer/Conductor of The Harry Potter Film Concert Series said: “The Harry Potter film series is one of those once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomena that continues to delight millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we introduce for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. It will be an unforgettable event.”

Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for The Harry Potter Film Concert Series added: “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the entire world, and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to this world, and to the many wonderful characters and adventures that inhabit it.”

J. K. Rowling, will shine a light on millions of the world’s most disadvantaged children in orphanages this weekend, in an exclusive Facebook Live global broadcast. In conversation with writer and broadcaster Lauren Laverne in London on Saturday 17 September at 8.15pm BST / 3.15pm ET / 12.15 PT she will illuminate the work of Lumos, which she founded a decade ago to return children from orphanages and institutions to families.  The broadcast will be streamed live via the  Lumos Facebook page.

There is also a new limited edition ‘Be the Light’ T-shirt on sale today – at least 60% of the retail price goes to Lumos programmes to help children. The shirt features a quote from J.K. Rowling from her Very Good Lives speech given at a Harvard commencement ceremony in 2008. The ‘Be the Light’ T-shirts feature a design using inspirational words from the author: “We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already” and are available to buy now at www.represent.com/lumos

More from the press release may be read below:

People are invited to submit a question for J.K. Rowling about Lumos’ work and the estimated eight million children living in institutional care, separated from families and exposed to abuse, harm and neglect.  Questions can be sent this week via the We Are Lumos Worldwide campaign website and some will be selected to be read out on the night.

The Facebook Live event marks the start of the We Are Lumos Worldwide global campaign to raise awareness and urge people to get involved with the non-profit organisation’s work to bring the hidden children to light and get them home to families.  The campaign will include:

• A gala performance of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End on Sunday 18 September, where J.K. Rowling will introduce the play and talk about Lumos.  All proceeds from this event will go towards Lumos programmes around the world.
• A special advance screening, benefiting Lumos, of the new Warner Bros feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them following an on stage conversation between J.K. Rowling and the film’s star Eddie Redmayne on Saturday 12 November at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Written by J.K. Rowling, the film is inspired by the Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by the author’s character, magizoologist Newt Scamander.  The film opens in 1926 in New York, as Newt Scamander, played by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne, has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures.

Thanks to the generosity of J.K. Rowling and others, 100% of all public donations, including funds raised from the events in the We Are Lumos Worldwide campaign, will go directly to Lumos’ programmes helping thousands of children to leave orphanages and return to families, giving them a real chance in life.

The We Are Lumos Worldwide campaign will increase understanding of this global problem affecting an estimated eight million children hidden away in orphanages and large-scale residential care, the majority of whom are not orphans.

As part of this awareness raising, Harry Potter stars and Lumos ambassadors Warwick Davis, Evanna Lynch and Bonnie Wright have visited programmes in Moldova and Haiti to find out more about this vital work.  Films of their visits will be released in the coming weeks.

Fans, supporters and celebrities everywhere are invited, as part of the We Are Lumos Worldwide campaign, to Be the Light in the lives of eight million forgotten children, living in the darkest of places.

The Facebook Live global broadcast will take place on Saturday 17 September at 8.15pm BST / 3.15pm ET / 12.15pm PT.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London has announced 3 screenings of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. These special screenings will take place at 4pm on November 18th, 19th and 20th. As well as being able to watch the film, tickets also include food and drink in the Backlot Café, treats for during the film, a special welcome from prop master Pierre Bohanna, and more.

Tickets for the screenings cost £145pp (purchase here on Thursday) and the package includes:

• Studio Tour with specially created souvenir ticket
• Butterbeer served in a souvenir tankard
• Choice of hot food and a glass of wine, beer or soft drink in the Backlot Cafe
• Complimentary souvenir green screen photograph
• Ticket to screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the cinema
• A bag of sweets or popcorn to enjoy in the cinema
• Choice of wine, beer, hot or soft drink in the Studio Lobby to enjoy in the cinema
• Souvenir guidebook
• Return shuttle to Watford Junction Station

Screenings of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will take place at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London on the 18th, 19th and 20th November 2016 from 4pm. Tickets are priced at £145pp and are available to purchase from 10am Thursday. Book via www.wbstudiotour.co.uk

The full press release may be read below:

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