Scholastic's official Harry Potter website has been updated with a few new games, including a timely one for Mother's Day.

- Magnificent Moms - test your knowledge of mothers in the Potter series.

- Polyjuice Pairs and Magical Matches - two simple memory games. Find all of the card pairs on the board in under one minute!

- Potter Swap - match up sets of Potter books to eliminate them. Similar to the game Bejewled.

Thanks to The Portkey for the tip. And Happy Mother's Day to all of you Potter-crazy Mom's out there!

According to Ganmag.com, Scholastic, the US HP publisher, plans to print 2 million additional copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the US, the book sold a staggering 11.5 million copies of those 14 million printed in just 10 days.

Sales for the novel elsewhere are currently quite vague, but we hope to have details soon.

The US book publisher has issued a statement this morning which reveals where a leak of Deathly Hallows occurred:

We are taking immediate legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment. The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of one percent of the total U.S. copies to go on sale at 12:01 am on July 21st.

Read the full press release at the link below!

Cheryl Klein, notable editor with Arthur K. Levine Books and Scholastic, has made a guest appearance on NPR's program "Talk of the Nation." Cheryl discusses her work as continuity editor of the Harry Potter books and even answers questions asked by various listeners of the show. To hear this brief conversation with Cheryl Klein, click here and be sure to click on the "Listen" button.

Thanks to everyone who emailed!

The LA Times is reporting that the US Harry Potter publisher obtained a subpoena to learn the identity of a user who allegedly posted copies of Deathly Hallows on a California website.

Scholastic said in a court filing Monday that "materials hosted on Photobucket.com's system" contain materials that infringe copyrights owned by Scholastic and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. Photobucket.com, a News Corp. unit, is a website for sharing photos and videos on social networks such as MySpace.

The subpoena was sent to Gaia Interactive Inc. in San Jose seeking the identity of a user on gaiaonline.com, a social network, according to the filing in San Francisco federal court.

Gaia complied with the subpoena, removed the material and temporarily banned the user from the site, said Gaia spokesman Bill Danon.

The seventh and final question in the lead-up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been asked by Scholastic. What are the Deathly Hallows? Readers can answer:

1) We'll find out right away.
2) We'll find out in the middle.
3) We'll find out at the end.

Scholastic has updated its site with the sixth of seven questions they're asking in the lead-up to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Will Voldemort be defeated? The answers available are:

1) Yes and he will die (which is the current favorite)
2) Yes and he will live
3) No way
4) There will be a truce

The seven US contest winners were announced on Scholastic's website today. These lucky fans will fly out to London to attend "J.K. Rowling and the Moonlight Signing" at London's Natural History Museum on July 21, 2007. They will receive a copy of the US edition of Deathly Hallows as well as hear a reading from Jo herself. Congratulations to those who won!

Scholastic has posted the fifth of their seven pressing questions about Deathly Hallows leading up to the release of the book: Where are the Horcruxes?

A downloadable bookmark with this question can be found here.

(Like this story? Then Digg It!)

Scholastic has released the cover art for the deluxe edition of the American Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

- Artwork
- Box

David Saylor, Vice President, Creative Director, Scholastic described the art: "Set during a highly dramatic sunset, Harry, Hermione, and Ron--clothes in tatters--cling atop a flying dragon in this astonishing artwork created by Mary GrandPré for the deluxe edition. As mist creeps down towering hillsides to a village below, questions arise about where the trio is headed and what has led them to this spellbinding moment."

The book will contain 816 pages compared to 784 pages in the regular edition and will cost $65; 100,000 copies are being printed.

Let the speculation continue! 42 days...

Scholastic's Knight Bus, which will be travelling to 37 libraries along the USA's east coast to promote Deathly Hallows, left NYC today. Check out some photos here.

The bus will stop at each library, allowing fans to embark on the bus and enter a video booth to record their thoughts about Harry Potter.

Thanks to Richard for pointing out this new listing on Barnes & Noble's website promoting an upcoming box set of all seven Harry Potter novels.

Due to be released on September 18th (according to B&N's website), the books will be enclosed in this cool case that includes a privacy lock and a sticker set. You can see what it looks like while opened right here (and we doubt that's a real copy of Deathly Hallows, but it's cool to see it with the rest of 'em).

The listing price is $195 but Barnes & Noble has a discounted preorder of $136.50. We hope to have more details soon!

That's the second question being asked by Scholastic as part of its "There Will Soon Be 7" Deathly Hallows marketing campaign.

UPDATE: The US Harry Potter editor, Arthur Levine, appeared on the The Early Show this morning to unveil the question above. "We're part of that excitement. We're wondering all these questions, too. We wanted to help focus the conversation and be part of all the excitement, with all the readers who are wondering."

The New York Times has posted a new interview with Scholastic CEO Richard Robinson. In it, he addresses a few questions about the Potter series and its impact on the US book company:

Q. So where is Scholastic bound after the last Harry Potter book? Can we believe it's the last book?

A. We can believe this is the last book on Harry Potter. We look at Harry Potter as a wonderful icing on top of the cake, but we are essentially a children's book and media company, with our own distribution network and book clubs. There's no question that Harry Potter gave us a big boost. It brought us name recognition, but Harry Potter never exceeded 8 percent of our total revenue.

Thanks to Lori, Jacob, and Mischal for the tip!

As part of its There Will Soon Be 7 Deathly Hallows marketing campaign, Scholastic has updated its site with new activities, downloads, bookmarks, posters, e-cards, and much more. Furthermore, the first of seven pressing questions has now been posted: "Who will live, Who will die?" You can vote here.

UPDATE: Scholastic now has a profile on YouTube that will play host to several promotional videos asking the seven aforementioned questions.

The US Harry Potter publisher has now released a Deathly Hallows poster, available for download here. Bloomsbury previously released a UK DH poster which can be saved here.

We've all heard the story of the Harry Potter reader who had no interest in reading before HP came out, but for the first time, a report by Scholastic has quantified the huge impact the books have had on kids' reading attitudes and behaviours. Here are some astounding facts discovered in the survey:

- 51% of HP readers, aged 5-17, say they had not read before for fun
- 65% say they're now doing better in school as a result of their newfound interest in reading
- More boys than girls read the books (57% vs. 51%) (surprising, seeing as more girls than boys visit MuggleNet)
- 62% of boys felt it important to read the books to feel "in" with their friends while only 44% of girls felt the same
- Almost 60% of 9 to 11-year-olds have read the books; 70% are interested in re-reading them
- 63% of 12 to 14-year-olds have read the books; 69% are interested in re-reading them
- 57% of 15 to 17-year-olds have read the books; 60% are interested in re-reading them

Thanks to Elizabeth for the tip!

Fans have speculated that HP 7 will hit shelves a year from today, and now an article by CNN Money describes how a 2007 release for the final Harry Potter book is just what the struggling American publisher needs. Scholastic's shares have fallen by 6 percent this year, and because of this drop, it has become more expensive for the company to borrow money.

The company is optimistic that its profits won't completely flat-line following the publication of Harry Potter 7. Drew Crum, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus who follows Scholastic, said: "Post Potter, Rowling is on record saying she'll continue to publish books. Given Scholastic's relationship with her, they should be in good position to work with her. Of course, it will be nearly impossible to duplicate Potter but anything she writes will create some demand."

Thanks to Mark for the tip!

Scholastic.com has been updated with a 20-day countdown to the release of the American Half-Blood Prince in paperback. Each day, a new question will be asked, with the answer being revealed the following day. On the release of the book, July 25th, the last question will take the form of a live Harry Potter discussion/podcast, featuring MuggleNet's Emerson Spartz, Melissa from TLC, and editor Cheryl Klein of Arthur Levine and Scholastic books. The show will take place at a Las Vegas Barnes & Noble store - more info here.

US Potter publisher Scholastic has updated their Fun Stuff section with downloads relating to Order of the Phoenix.

Additionally, the winners of the Scholastic contest held before the release of Half-Blood Prince have been posted.