Rowling outs 'gay' Dumbledore - Oct 22 2007
The rumours are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay, Harry Potter author JK Rowkling has admitted.

Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall, New York.

After reading briefly from the final book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love".

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards.

"Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down".

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy".

"Oh, my God," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction".

Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the internet have speculated on the sexuality of Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past. And explicit scenes with Dumbledore have already appeared in fan fiction.

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.



JK reads to young fans in New Orleans - Oct 20 2007
Seated on a plush oversized red chair, author JK Rowling read a passage from the seventh and final book of her Harry Potter series to an auditorium of young fans in New Orleans.

More than 1,500 students from 80 New Orleans area public schools attended, some wearing tall pointy hats.

After the reading JK answered questions and signed copies of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, which she gave to each student.

JK’s visit to New Orleans was part of a week-long visit to the US known as the Open Book Tour.

On Monday, she read to young fans at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, and will read at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Friday.

JK said she remembered the first book that made her feel passionate about reading and storytelling. She was four and home sick with the measles when her father read her The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

She also gave advice on how to become a good writer.

"Read a lot," she said. "And write what you know."

She said many of the Harry Potter scenes and characters came from people and places she’d encountered.

JK -- and her American publisher, Scholastic -- left their mark in the city still recovering from Katrina.

Scholastic donated 10,000 copies of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone to Orleans Parish public school students.

The company also announced it’s donating a complete set of the Harry Potter series to each public school and public library in New Orleans.
 

JK ’depressed’ after Harry - July 26 2007
JK Rowling has apparently revealed that she suffered depression after writing the final chapter of the last Harry Potter book.

The author, who turns 42 on Tuesday, told US TV that the first two days after penning the end of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows were "terrible", reports the Daily Mirror.