J.K. Rowling donated an autographed U.S. deluxe edition Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book to the Little Auction that Could. Thanks to our friends at Snitch Seeker, we can now view pictures of the signed book here and here.

All proceeds from the eBay auction going on Nov. 6 through Nov. 29 will go to a shelter for abused and neglected children.

Last month we told you about an upcoming comic book by Bluewater Productions centered around the story of Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

MTV now has online a preview of six pages from the comic book. They include very nice, full color sketches illustrating the life of our favorite author.

The comic book will be released in December. It is not officially authorized by Warner Brothers/JK Rowling. For more information on the Female Force comic book series, click here!

Author J.K. Rowling will be the recipient of the first ever Hans Christian Anderson Award next year in Denmark. The Potter author will travel to Odense to accept the award in person on October 19, 2010.

"The city already has a strong link to Rowling’s books and hosts an annual Harry Potter Festival, which transforms the City Hall into Hogwarts School for witches and wizards. The festival is run in conjunction with the public library to encourage children to read."

In addition, Rowling was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award on October 4, by animation and gaming company DQ Entertainment for her outstanding contribution towards children's entertainment.

Thanks to Tine for the tip and translation!

J.K. Rowling announced, while at the Stella McCartney show, that she is indeed putting "pen to paper."

“I’m working on something, but it’s not Harry Potter,” she said. “I need a Harry break.”

You may recall that she mentioned she was busy writing when she posted her first Twitter message last month.

What could it be?

Read the Telegraph's report right here.

This news initially broke a couple weeks ago but has recently been picked up in various major media outlets. According to a new book by Matt Latimer, who was US President Bush's speechwriter, Bush's administration had denied JK Rowling a Presidential Award because the Potter books promoted witchcraft.

From the BBC:

The claims appear in Latimer's new book called Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor.

He wrote that "narrow thinking" led White House officials to object to giving Rowling the civilian honour.

The award acknowledges contributions to US national interest, world peace or cultural endeavours.

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed in with the tip.

The author of the Harry Potter books has an official Twitter account!

A visitor to our friends at Leaky reported the verified Twitter account and they confirmed with Jo's reps that it's legitimate.

Jo created the account to put an end to all the fake ones. She also wrote this first (and only) message:

I am told that people have been twittering on my behalf, so I thought a brief visit was in order just to prevent any more confusion! However, I should flag up now that although I could twitter endlessly, I’m afraid you won’t be hearing from me very often, as pen and paper is my priority at the moment

Pen and paper are Jo's priorities at the moment? Hmmmm?! You can follow MuggleNet's official account right here. To follow all the Potter stars from the films, simply click here and follow the easy instructions!

MTV is reporting today that Bluewater Productions, the company behind the Barack Obama, Stephenie Meyer, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson comic books, will be releasing a comic book based on the life of J.K. Rowling.

The comic, written by Adam Gragg examines Rowling’s middle class upbringing, her time in Portugal teaching English, her meteoric rise with seven immensely successful books adapted into several high-grossing Hollywood blockbusters, and her post-Potter endeavors.

“She is a remarkable and multi-dimensional woman,’” Gragg noted, “Learning about who she is and how she struggled to become a success was a truly enlightening experience. Twelve publishers turned her down. If it weren’t for the daughter of a British publisher who liked Rowling’s first chapter of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, we might never have met Harry Potter.”

Yesterday on BBC Radio Five Live Radio Simon Mayo, author Ian Rankin, a friend of J.K. Rowling, revealed that the last time he saw her, she was working hard on the Encyclopedia. He also mentioned he saw her drawing up family trees.

It should be mentioned that Rankin said he has not seen Rowling in some time and that he didn't know whether the encyclopedia was for her own fun or not.

Could the Encyclopedia be nearing its release? Let's hope so!

Thanks to Chris for the tip!

Attention Canadian fans! CBC Newsworld will be airing "A Year in the Life of J.K. Rowling" Saturday, September 5 at 10 pm ET and Sunday, September 6 at 8 pm ET.

You may recall that the documentary follows Rowling as she writes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and gives viewers insights on her past.

Thanks to Lucas for letting us know!

They quite literally give a hand, as Potter author JK Rowling and Hagrid actor Robbie Coltrane are among many celebrities contributing to the 'Give Tilly A Hand' charity auction.

Said auction is to benefit a little girl named Tilly Lockey, who had to have her hands and feet amputated after contracting metengitis.

Each celebrity designed their own handprint. JK Rowling drew several Potter-related items on each of her fingers (see photo), and Robbie Coltrane filled his in with green patterns. See all of the celebrity handprints at this link.

The auction will be held September 5th. To see more details, click here. Thanks to Claire for the tip!

Today, July 31, the author of the Harry Potter book series celebrates her birthday alongside her brainchild, Harry.

We hope both have a brilliant birthday! Please join us in celebrating with birthday wishes in the comments.

You may recall that a documentary aired in the U.K previously, featuring a year in the life of J.K. Rowling while writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Good news for U.S. fans--"J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life" will air on ABC tomorrow: Thursday, July 16 at 8:00.

Thanks to Ashley for the tip!

The Daily Mail has photos online of our favorite author attending the Raisa Gorbachev charity gala in London last night.

Jo is looking beautiful!

The purpose of the Raisa Fund, according to their site, "is to raise funds to improve the treatment of children suffering with cancer in Russia".

Thanks to Sonam for the tip!

The Evening Times is reporting today that The Braendam House, a charity home allowing poor families to vacation, was saved by JK Rowling's Volant Charitable Trust, among others. It had been nearing closure after running out of money:

The size of the donation has not been revealed.

As well as the cheque from Volant, other trusts have contributed to a rescue package for Braen dam House, including the Cattanach Trust, Robertson Trust, Endrick Trust, Mugdock Children's Trust, and the Balmore Coach House Trust.

Cath Morrison, chief executive of the Lilias Graham Trust, said the new money would keep the charity going until at least next March.

She said: "It is fantastic news. It was like TV's The Secret Millionaire."

Over 48,000 bricks were used to create a lego mosaic of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling at the Legoland Windsor theme park. Rowling won the honor after landing first place in a poll looking for the "ultimate hero" of the past ten years. Local children were an integral part of putting the mosaic together.

"At Legoland, we actively encourage imagination and creativity and believe in making the children the heroes – just as Rowling does in her stories."

Other notable Potter stars who made top 10 in the poll were Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) at No. 8 and David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr.) at No. 9.

Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip!

TIME magazine has released its list of the world's 100 most influential people, and UK prime minister Gordon Brown came in at #2. JK Rowling, a strong supporter of Brown, wrote a piece about him for the magazine:

"Back in the mid-1990s, when he was new labour's brooding, intellectual heavyweight, I was a lone parent struggling to get by. He said he was not interested in stigmatizing the poor but in finding solutions for their predicament. I was tired of hearing government ministers lambaste the likes of me as irresponsible scroungers. I wanted Gordon Brown in charge..."

Thanks to Allie for the tip.

Back in December 2007, British television station ITV aired a great documentary looking at JK Rowling's life and the Potter phenomenon.

Those of us in the United States weren't able to see it, but now ABC has announced that they'll be airing the documentary on July 16th! That's just one day after the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

You can see a couple video previews for the documentary here and here. We'll be sure to remind you about it again in July - it's definitely worth checking out!

Fans may remember that she has played a big role in raising for Multiple Sclerosis research, and today we've learned that Jo has stepped down as patron of MS Society Scotland. This, after she revealed she cannot "in good conscience, continue to be the public face of a charity that is changing beyond recognition from the one with which I have been so proud to be associated."

You can read a longer statement from Jo, as well as a response from MS Society Scotland, at this link.

UPDATE: The BBC reports that Jo read from Beedle the Bard this evening. You can read the report right here.

In a follow-up to what we reported earlier, we now know that our favorite author will be reading at The Royal Opera House tonight (Thursday) in London. As The Independent reports:

Today, Mrs Obama and the G20 spouses will visit the Royal Opera House for a programme of operatic and ballet extracts. JK Rowling will give a reading during the performance, introduced by the broadcaster Mariella Frostrup.

At least one picture has already appeared online of Jo from the G20 dinner which you can see here. We do not know what Jo will be reading from at the Royal Opera House, but we'll keep you updated!

As we reported yesterday, JK Rowling is attending a dinner with Michelle Obama this evening in relation to the G20 Summit.

One photo has already appeared online, which you can see right here. The Telegraph also has this article, which gives more details about the dinner.

We'll update this post if any other pictures make their way online! Thanks to UHP for the tip.