USA Today has posted some highlights from J.K. Rowling’s chat with Ann Patchett at Lincoln Center last night. Magical Menagerie was in attendance and we can tell you it was amazing!

My personal favorite quote of the night happened when a fan asked Rowling if she live be anywhere in the world, magical or real, where would it be. Jo responded by saying the first thought that popped into her head was going to Meriton to get between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy (of Pride and Prejudice.) She admitted that she has a crush on him (that her husband is well aware of) and jokes, “but who doesn’t have a think for Mr Darcy?”

Some quotes from USA Today:

J.K. Rowling quipped Tuesday about the difference between The Casual Vacancy, her first post-Harry Potter novel for grown-ups, and another kind of adult best seller: E.L. James’ erotic Fifty Shades of Grey.

“The difference is that people have sex in my book, but no one enjoys it,” Rowling told 2,500 cheering fans at an event at a Manhattan theater.

Rowling also said:

— She dreaded writing several scenes in her new novel, about social and political divisions in a small English town, particularly a rape, but “it had to happen. It was there for a reason.”

— Her new novel “might be appropriate for the right 14- or 15-year-old, but not any younger than that.” But parents, she added, should discuss the reasons with their children that it’s inappropriate.

— Her biggest challenge in moving from young readers to adults wasn’t “about writing in a contemporary world, in a real world,” but getting “the structure” right of a novel without a central character.

—–

It [the event] drew a screaming crowd that gave Rowling a standing ovation as she walked on stage, prompting Patchett to say, “This is like a Stones concert.”

Patchett, “as a writer and bookseller,” praised Rowling “for doing more for reading than anyone else in my lifetime and for single-handedly keeping an industry alive.”

“No, no, no,” Rowling replied. “That’s way too much responsibility.”

—–

The two authors sat on a stage normally used by the New York City Ballet and often drew laughs, especially when Patchett mentioned the double meaning of “adult novel.”

Both Rowling and Patchett shared they hadn’t read Fifty Shades.

“Everyone tells me the writing is terrible,” Patchett said.

“But that’s porn,” Rowling shot back to laughter. “Have you ever read The Story of O?”

“I went to Catholic school,” Patchett confessed.

“You’d like it even more,” Rowling replied.

—–

When Rowling said she feared some readers may have missed the humor in The Casual Vacancy, Patchett said “it is a story not between evil and good, but between evil and funny.”

Emma Watson was a guest on the Ellen Show earlier this week where she discussed a myriad of topics. A couple videos of the appearance may be seen below:

Elle has also posted a behind the scenes look at their Women in Hollywood feature and Emma’s segment may be seen throughout the video.

During her press tour for The Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling also appeared on CBS This Morning. She discusses the new book, Harry Potter and more with Gayle King and Charlie Rose. A video from the appearance may be watched below:

Earlier this week JK Rowling was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. A Video of that appearance is now online and may be watched below. In the interview she talks The Casual Vacancy, politics and more! (unfortunately the videos are only available in the US)

Sky Movies have sent over some exciting news for their customers:

From November, Sky Movies will be the first movie service to offer viewers the entire Harry Potter™ film series from start to finish – and the only place on UK television to watch the boy wizard’s adventures this Christmas.

Sky Movies customers will be able to enjoy the most successful movie franchise in box office history – from Harry’s first outing in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone™ to his final, epic battle with Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2 – from 5th November.

All of the Harry Potter™ movies will be available on the set-top box, on Sky’s comprehensive TV On Demand service and Sky Go, the award-winning multiplatform TV service, enabling customers to access them anytime, and anywhere.

The films will also be available to NOW TV customers subscribing to the Sky Movies monthly pass. NOW TV offers easy and flexible access to Sky Movies across PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, YouView, Xbox and selected Android smartphones, with films available to stream instantly. Customers who subscribe to Sky Movies via Virgin Media, UPC and TalkTalk will also be able to enjoy the entire Harry Potter™ film series.

J.K. Rowling has been doing quite a few interviews as part of her book tour for The Casual Vacancy, which was released 2 weeks ago. Here is a quick roundup of interviews and articles on events she attended as well as some snippets:

The Telegraph:

“As the writer of Harry Potter, I’m always nervous of committing myself to another children’s book, but yes, the next thing I write will be for children,” she said. “I have a lot of things on my laptop currently, including a couple of things for children – for a slightly younger age group than Harry Potter was aimed at – which are nearly done and will, I think, be the next thing I publish. I have run them by my children and they seem to like them which is always a good sign. I also have some ideas for another book for adults but it isn’t too far on [in development].”

“We do stigmatise teens a lot and see them as scary and alien. It’s a very fragile time of life. It is more difficult to be a teenager now than when I was a teenager. The internet has been a boon and a curse for teenagers.”

“I do have a tendency to walk on the dark side sometimes. I have suffered from depression, I know how that feels, I have an innate inclination that way. Writing does help with that [depression].”

This is Gloucestershire:

Rowling also talked about the importance of staying traditional, and said: “I always planned for this book to be a hardcover. My feeling is the best publishing style is still with traditional publishing houses.”

She insisted the book was not autobiographical, but rather a reflection of “growing up in the West country and growing up in a comprehensive school”.

Spiegel:

SPIEGEL: Middle-class hypocrisy is an important theme of the book. What do you find interesting about that?
Rowling: An unpleasant tendency in human interaction is that we view each other with less and less empathy. Instead, we judge others whom we really shouldn’t be judging, because we know them far too little. The feeling that we can never sink as low as some neighbor or a person to whom we feel superior boosts our self-esteem. I believe that lack of empathy is behind many problems, and I believe that it’s disrupting our society. In Great Britain, there is a steady decline in the willingness to be truly generous, and by that I don’t mean monetary generosity, but friendship and sympathy for others.

SPIEGEL: Did you ever enjoy killing off a character?
Rowling: No, never. Although that’s not quite true. There was one exception. The only character I was happy to kill off was Bellatrix Lestrange in the last Harry Potter volume. Being able to kill her was a pleasure.