JK Rowling has written a short prequel to her popular Harry Potter books.

But the 800-word tale will not be published - instead it will go under the hammer at a charity auction in London next month.

She is one of 13 authors - including Nick Hornby and Doris Lessing - asked to write storycards by Waterstone's for their What's Your Story? auction.

Rowling's story finishes with the handwritten words: "From the prequel I am not working on - but that was fun!"

All 13 cards will be sold without a reserve price. The other authors include Margaret Atwood, Lauren Child, Sebastian Faulks, Tom Stoppard and Irvine Welsh.

'Incredibly grateful'

Gerry Johnson, managing director of Waterstone's said: "What's Your Story just gets more and more exciting - all these brilliant works by amazing writers and illustrators, every one a small masterpiece, and now this - the prequel to Harry Potter.

"We never dreamed that JK Rowling would donate something so precious, and we're incredibly grateful."

Money raised from the sale will go to English PEN, which promotes understanding through literature, and Dyslexia Action.

In December last year, a new JK Rowling work, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, fetched £1.95m at auction.

Philip Errington, a specialist at Sotheby's, which will run the auction at Waterstone's Piccadilly store on 10 June, said: "Given the enormous interest we have seen in recent times for autograph work by JK Rowling, the prospects for her storycard are good to say the least.

"There is just no telling how high the bidding might go."

- source bbc website

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been set to be released on Saturday, July 21st 2007. The news was announced earlier today on jkrowling.com.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be the seventh and final book of the best selling series. Two of the main characters are to die in the final book. The book will be released one week after the fifth movie is released in the cinema.

JKR released the title of book seven earlier today. The title of the book is: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Here is a picture of luna lovegood from the forthcoming Potter movie.

Box Office Mojo is reporting that the sixth film, Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince, is set to be released on November 21st, 2008. WB has confirmed to us that this is indeed the actual release date. Let the countdown begin!

Steve Kloves will return to write the screenplay for HBP. A director has yet to be chosen. The fifth film, Order of the Phoenix, will hit theaters July 13th, 2007.

-mugglenet

US: 13 July 2007
UK: 13 July 2007
Bulgaria: 20 July 2007
Australia: 6 September 2007

- dates are for the order of the pheonix movie and are from warner bros.

Recently comingsoon.net interviewed Rupert Grint (ron Weasley) here are the highlights.

CS: Do you think a lot of Harry Potter fans will go to see this movie to see you in it?
Grint: Yeah, I guess so. That would be kind of interesting. I mean, Harry Potter is sort of a huge thing and has a huge following, so it's quite strange.

CS: How far along are you on the new "Potter" movie?
Grint: The fifth one? We're almost halfway there. We only sort of started, but there's still a long way to go, but it's going really well.

CS: I haven't read the fifth book yet, so does Ron finally get a girlfriend?
Grint: No, not in this one. There's quite a lot happening in this one, and it's a really big book. We got a new director on this one, as well. He's actually a mate of Jeremy's, so that was quite cool.

CS: Did you notice a big change in the writing, since this is the first one not written by Steven Cloves?
Grint: I guess it's still quite faithful to the book, and it's a really good script, actually.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was named as the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. The win comes as Potter film-makers Warner Bros confirmed that Gary Oldman was returning to his role as Sirius Black for Order of the Phoenix.

JK beat Jamie Oliver and Sharon Osbourne among others to the prize.

At the bash, she told Newsround that book seven - the last in the series - was "going very well".

She said: "I've done a bit. But there's nothing more I can tell you. Everything's a giveaway now."

Other winners at the ceremony included Anthony Horowitz - whose Ark Angel was named Children's Book of the Year and Jamie Oliver, who received an Outstanding Achievement Award for his writing skills and school dinners campaign.

The film of the fifth Potter book, Order Of The Phoenix, started shooting in February.

Movie-makers Warner Bros said Gary Oldman was set to film his scenes late this summer.

- bbc.co.uk

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