Online book retailer Amazon.com announced today that they have purchased an original, hand-written and hand-bound copy of J.K. Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a book of children's stories that plays a major role in the plot of "The Deathly Hallows." The book, one of only seven made, was auctioned off in London at Sotheby's for 1.95 million pounds. Proceeds from the auction are going to The Children's Voice Campaign, a charity that benefits needy and institutionalized children worldwide. The book was expected to fetch only about $100,000 -- clearly Sotheby's was underestimating the Potter fanbase. more ›

Ian McKellan has got to be bitching his agent out this very second -- in an appearance at Carnegie Hall last week, J.K. Rowling revealed that Professor Albus Dumbledore, the late great headmaster of Hogwarts was actually -- gasp! -- a gay! Newsweek magazine broke the story: One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. "Dumbledore is gay, actually,"... more ›