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.

The Times Online is reporting this evening that the First Lady of the United States will be spending part of her trip in London at a special dinner with author JK Rowling:

Seated on one side of Mrs Obama will be J. K. Rowling, the author; on the other will be Kelly Holmes, the double Olympic gold medallist.

We'll let you know if more details come from the event.

Several popular authors, including JK Rowling, will be receiving cheques from the state of Ireland because of their popularity in libraries. As The Times Online reports:

Binchy said many bestselling authors donate their cheques to charity but they remain an important incentive. “It’s only fair that if hundreds of people borrow your book, you get paid,” she said. “It’s especially important for those who don’t get huge sales. When you see that PLR written on an envelope your heart soars because it’s never bad news. It’s confirmation people are reading your books.”

The Scotsman is reporting that Potter author JK Rowling recently visited a Scotland hospital and left them some special art:

Ms Rowling, 43, daubed graffiti on the walls of the Young People's Unit at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Morningside, which cares for teenagers with complex psychiatric conditions.

Consultant psychologist Dr Jane Morris said: "She really does spread magic. She's a natural and knows how to talk to young people. And she's extremely cool. She does graffiti on the walls which is probably worth a fortune.

"She's drawn all of us and wrote 'JK Rowling was here'."

You can read the full report right here. Thanks to Mike for the tip!

Back in September, JK Rowling was honoured in Edinburgh, receiving an award for her contribution to the city. Her handprints have now been placed in the City Chambers alongside Ian Rankin's, a fellow Edinburgh author who accepted the award in 2007.

"I think it is particularly appropriate for a writer's hands to be represented, so I am deeply honoured to have my keyboard-chipped fingernails, not to mention my pen-induced friction callous, commemorated in the place where I produced Harry Potter."

You can see Ms. Rowling here in Morningside preparing her hand impressions.

Yesterday we told you that JK Rowling had been bestowed the title of "Knight" and inducted into France's prestigious "Legion d'honneur," the ceremony for which took place in Paris' Elysee presidential palace. French president Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the author into the Legion, and Jo then made a speech in French (pictures, video).

Below is the full translation of Jo's speech (thanks to Clementine):

Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, please forgive my accent and all the
grammar mistakes that I am about to make. My French is rusty, although I
taught it in Scotland many years ago - but I remember enough of it to be
ashamed of my mistakes. First I would like to thank you from the bottom of
my heart for granting me this distinction - it is both extraordinary and
unexpected. I cannot say I think I truly deserve it, but the Legion
d'Honneur has a very special and personal significance to me, as I shall
soon explain. That said, the perspective of visiting the Elysee [the
Presidential palace] and of meeting the President [Nicolas Sarkozy] was
enough to convince me to take on your invitation. I am particularly glad to
obtain this medal in front of young French fans, for their deep attachment
to the series and their many letters have made me happy for years.

In an interview with USA Weekend for an upcoming cover story, author Stephen King spoke about his influence on popular authors such as JK Rowling:

"I think that has some kind of formative influence the same way reading Richard Matheson had an influence on me," King explains. "People always say to me, 'Well, what about H.P. Lovecraft?' And the thing was, you read Lovecraft when you were a kid but I never felt that he was speaking my language. It was chillier than my heart was, and when Matheson started to write about ordinary people and stuff, that was something that I wanted to do.

He also talks about Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, saying that she "can’t write worth a darn." While the comments may surprise Twilight fans, most are probably aware of how Ms. Meyer has said herself that she is not a great writer. Or maybe Mr. King is just upset that Stephenie is too afraid to read his books. Thanks to "Anonymous" for the tip!

Today in Paris, JK Rowling was inducted into France's prestigious "Legion d'honneur" (Legion of Honor), in which the honorary title of "Knight" was bestowed upon her. The event took place in the Elysee presidential palace and France's president Nicolas Sarkozy was there to welcome the author into the Legion.

JK Rowling accepted the award and spoke to those present in French, according to Europe1 (translation below):

Full transcript (translation) of Jo's speech in French can be seen at the "read more" link below, thanks to our translator Clementine.

For pictures of Jo at the event click here, and a video of her appearance can be seen here. (Translation of what she said coming soon).

Congratulations again, Jo!

It was revealed today via Elysee.fr that JK Rowling will receive France's highest honor tomorrow at the Palace Elysee in Paris, France.

Congratulations, Jo! Thanks to BlogHogwarts.com for the tip.

UPDATE: JK's people have let us know that the following story is false and Jo will not be attending the event.

Five hundred people have been invited to the January 25th inauguration of Barrack Obama to the Presidency, and JK Rowling is reported to be among them. The President-elect has stated before that he reads the Potter books to his daughters who are huge fans of the series.

Reuters is one of the first to report on the tea party held earlier today by author J.K. Rowling for roughly 200 primary school students.

"During a question-and-answer session, the writer spoke about her favorite authors as a child and her love of Christmas, and revealed she has had a fear of spiders ever since she was young."

Rowling went on to say that the idea to publish Beedle the Bard came from Potter fans:

"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'."

There are also some photos available from the reading courtesy of Getty Images.

Earlier today, MuggleNet staffer Christie was able to take some great photos of Jo entering the National Library of Scotland just outside Advocate's Court.

Jo holding Beedle the Bard outside library

Additionally, she visited the library itself this afternoon and got some shots of Barry Cunningham's personal handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Cunningham was Rowling's first editor and a publisher at Bloomsbury when he received the manuscript for the first Potter book.

Last page of The Wizard and The Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair Fortune
Cunningham's front cover
Cunningham's front and back cover

Thanks again to Christie for the great photos! We will have more as it becomes available so keep checking back often!

The Harry Potter author has contributed to The Birthday Book; a special book created for Prince Charles' 60th birthday. An excerpt of Jo's contribution has been revealed by The Guardian. In it, she discusses Harry's final walk through The Forbidden Forest:

But when Harry takes his last, long walk into the heart of the Dark Forest, he is choosing to accept a burden that fell on him when still a tiny child, in spite of the fact that he never sought the role for which he has been cast, never wanted the scar with which he has been marked. As his mentor, Albus Dumbledore, has tried to make clear to Harry, he could have refused to follow the path marked out for him. In spite of the weight of opinion and expectation that singles him out as the "Chosen One", it is Harry's own will that takes him into the Forest to meet Voldemort, prepared to suffer the fate that he escaped sixteen years before.

The Birthday Book is available for order from Amazon at this link and benefits The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts. You can read the whole excerpt right here. Thanks to Twaleah for the tip!