A lot has been going on since Beedle came out last week. Here’s what we’ve got:

• Cinemablend.com reports that there is a possibility that Warner Brothers is looking into turning The Tales of Beedle the Bard into a movie. Could be interesting, but I don’t see it happening.
• The Telegraph has reported that Beedle has become the fastest selling book of 2008:” It has sold almost five times as many copies in its first few days after publication as its nearest rival, Guinness World Records 2008.
  The success of the 109-page collection of short stories, which Rowling did not originally intend for publication, underlines the powerful hold she continues to exert over readers – and the book industry.
  The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.”
• Beedle the Bard has taken the Number One spot on USA Today’s Best Seller List

All of these news items are exciting to hear. Once again, these pieces of news beckon us to ask how a brand new complete book or series by JK Rowling would fair. I think we can assume, pretty well.

If you thought there were no more Harry Potter books…THINK AGAIN! We got our hands on The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and made our way through it just about as quickly as possible. The first thing we did, of course, was sit down and put a podcast together.  There’s really not much else to say, just download and listen already (but watch out: this podcast is full of spoilers)!

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

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Reuters is reporting that JK Rowling published “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” (which is available to purchase today) because of fan demand.

“The idea actually came from you, by which I mean Harry Potter fans,” Rowling told around 200 primary school children gathered at Edinburgh’s Parliament Hall for a tea party that officially launched Beedle the Bard.
“There was quite a lot of high feeling from Harry Potter fans that only someone who had two million pounds could afford to read the book. I thought ‘fair point’, so I thought ‘I’ll publish it and then the charity can have that money too’.”

I wonder if we can get her to publish an eighth Harry Potter book too?!?

This is just a friendly reminder to all of you that Beedle the Bard has officially come out!! I haven’t picked my copy up yet but I will be going to  Barnes and Noble soon to get it.

We can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on the book. Please feel free to leave comments or send us emails to let us know what you think!!

Penny

p.s. If you are getting Beedle from Barnes and Noble, make sure to give them the HPEF Book Fair Code so you can help a great Non Profit organization out!!

For our pre-Beedle the Bard release episode, we couldn’t think of a better person to talk to than Travis Prinzi, from the Hogs Head. As you may (or may not) know, Travis is an expert on fairy tales and he spoke to us about why Fairy Tales Matter and why they shouldn’t be dismissed. We also spoke about the concept of having a fairy tale within a fairy tale: specifically Beedle the Bard in Harry Potter. Travis had a whole lot of interesting information and we can’t wait for you to hear what he had to say.

Travis has a book coming out in several weeks titled: Harry Potter and Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds. It is now available fore pre-order, so make sure you check it out!!

We also discussed the results of our Beedle the Bard Contest, which we wrote about in the last blog post.

And make sure you check out the information on helping out the HPEF while making holiday purchases (including Beedle the Bard!) at Barnes and Noble during the beginning of December.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or dowload it directly as an mp3.

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BBC News is reporting that JK Rowling will be reading excerpts from the Tales of Beedle the Bard at a tea party at the National Library of Scotland, hosted by The Children’s High Level Group, the charity that Jo Rowling co-founded . The Party will take place on December 4, 2008, the same day that the Tales of Beedle the Bard hit the shelves.

Local school children will be invited to attend the special charity launch. Net proceeds from the sale of The Tales of Beedle the Bard will fund the charity’s work with vulnerable children across Eastern Europe. To celebrate the launch, children across the UK and those visiting from further afield, will get the opportunity to see one of only seven original copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard on display at the National Library of Scotland.
The month-long Beedle display will take place from 5 December to 4 January….There will be the opportunity for 10 local schools to each bring up to 20 pupils, aged 8 to 11, to the Beedle tea party.
The tickets will be allocated through a random ballot, to be run by the Edinburgh Evening News, from Wednesday 5 November 2008.

So, what about children who aren’t “local school children?” Well, Schostic, the US publisher of the Harry Potter series has announced a children’s essay contest, with five grand prizes of trips for two to Jo’s Beedle the Bard tea party in Scotland.

In order to enter The Tales of Beedle the Bard essay contest, fans are asked to write an essay of 200 words or less describing how they have helped others.

Good luck to all of the children (or parents of children) who enter!!

Bloomsbury, the UK Publishers of Harry Potter have revealed the first official “Beedle The Bard” promotional poster for the upcoming release of the book.

Beedle the Bard Promotional Poster

The low res poster can be downloaded  here and the high res poster can be downloaded here (7MB file).

(Hat Tip: BlogHowgwarts.com)

So, it’s been a week or so since the last episode of HPProgs; while you were waiting for the next show, and even larger wait was sprung upon you: Half Blood Prince, The Movie, was delayed from 2008 to 2000-and-freakin-9. Penny’s been covering developments on the HPProgs blog, and even managed to unearth one of the most ferverent reactions to the delay.

In this episode, we discuss the delay, assorted other goings-on, along with a tangential discussion on the recurring occurrences of eyes in Deathly Hallows (first spotted by John Granger – sorry I can’t find the exact link), and what this might (or mightn’t) mean.

Stay tuned for details on our Beedle the Bard contest, we will be putting out rules in the coming days.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This just in:

In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with these new editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, available December 4, 2008.

Beedle the Bard Standard Cover

Beedle The Bard Deluxe Edition

You can pre-order the special Collector’s Edition of Beedle The Bard for $100 or the Standard Edition for $7.79.

All proceeds go to The Children’s High Level Group charity.

The biggest question for me is: Will Jim Dale narrate the “Tales of Beedle The Bard?”

(Hat tip: thehogshead.org)

Amazon has announced the semi finalists for the Beedle The Bard Ballad Writing Contest.

• Vote for your favourite in the 13-17 age group
• Vote for your favourite in the 18-and-over age group

Through May 11, 2008, Amazon customers are invited to vote for their favorite submission in both age groups. Each winner will receive a $1,000 Amazon Gift Certificate, as well as the opportunity to square off in another round of customer voting–beginning May 13–to determine the Grand Prize winner of the trip for two to London, England and a weekend with The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

In order to vote, you must be signed in to a valid Amazon.com account (account holders for amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, and amazon.de should automatically qualify). Make your choice carefully and vote just once–your first vote is the only one that will count.

The top bidder in the auction for the seventh handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been announced.  It’s Amazon.com!  Amazon has always been one of my favorite companies and web sites (I do all my online shopping there, if I can help it), but this makes them even more awesome.  Not only are they going to take the book on tour so that everyone can get a chance to see it, they are posting copious amounts of information on their web site.  It’s so amazing that Amazon has chosen to share this with so many Potter fans.  Thanks Amazon.

Check out the Amazon page for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and make sure to check back, as Amazon is promising to post additional information, pictures and more.

This deserves its own news post.

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — J.K. Rowling’s handwritten book of fairy tales sold for 1.95 million pounds ($3.98 million) at a London charity sale.

Sotheby’s top estimate for “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” one of seven copies made after Rowling finished her last Harry Potter book, was 50,000 pounds. The money will go to the Children’s Voice, a charity co-founded by Rowling and Emma Nicholson, a member of the U.K. House of Lords.

The buyer was Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, an old-master dealership with many collector clients, Sotheby’s said.

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 Wow.  Wow, wow, wow.