The author of the Harry Potter series was honored today as one of Scotland's most influential women as part of a charity evento to assist disadvantaged women:

They were honoured at the Action for Children Scotland Woman of Influence Awards which celebrates women who have had a major impact on Scottish society.

Normally only one woman is honoured, but this year ten have been recognised to mark the tenth anniversary of the awards.

Hundreds of guests gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow city centre for the ceremony, which was hosted by radio presenter Fred MacAulay.

No word on whether or not Jo attended. Congratulations, Jo!

Barbie I Can Be is offering girls age 6 to 14 a chance to spend a day with J.K. Rowling in support of Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day!

After spending a day in the life with these fabulous women leaders, the girls will be asked to report back with photos, videos and a short written essay to share their experiences so girls everywhere can be inspired. They'll also be asked to attend a one-day celebration on April 22 to report their stories in support of Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day.

Enter the contest here before March 22!

Thanks to Courtney!

We've learned that this year's Oscar producers, Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic, approached JK Rowling and Twilight author Stephenie Meyer to present together at the 2010 Oscars.

The producers came up with this idea in an attempt to spice things up at the awards ceremony. It was just one of several unique ideas. From The Los Angeles Times:

The pair even wanted "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and "Twilight" scribe Stephenie Meyer to present the adapted screenplay category, but Rowling was unavailable because of scheduling conflicts and Meyer, who is a Mormon, does not work on Sundays.

"The younger side of the audience has been drifting for years, so we're more conscious of trying to build a youth element into the show," Mechanic said.

How would you have reacted to seeing JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer present together?

(Note: This report surfaced a couple weeks ago - and we avoided posting it - but now that it's in The Los Angeles Times it has gained credibility.)

Imagine how quickly I rolled out of bed this morning upon hearing from my friend Keith that Jo updated her official Twitter account again.

She reminded followers that writing is still her priority at the moment:

This is the real me, but you won’t be hearing from me often I am afraid, as pen and paper is my priority at the moment.

What could she be writing?!

The Children's High Level Group yesterday unveiled its new name - Lumos - and a new brand with a rallying call to put an end to the systematic institutionalisation of disadvantaged children across Central and Eastern Europe.

From the official press release, J.K. Rowling says:

"Twenty years ago, as Communist regimes across Europe toppled, harrowing images of Europe's hidden children began to emerge. Thousands upon thousands of children were living in vast, depressing institutions – malnourished and often maltreated, with little access to the outside world. Slowly governments have begun to transform care systems. Real and lasting change takes time, but today we are putting down a marker and calling for significantly more progress in the next twenty years to ensure that eventually no children are living in, or at risk of entering, such institutions."

Lumos, chaired by the Potter author, will continue its work in the Czech Republic and the Republic of Moldova, as well as expanding into other countries, including Bulgaria.

Potter fans will remember the charity as the beneficiary of the sales from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. You can visit the Lumos website right here. To read the entire release click "more" below.

A lawsuit against JK Rowling's UK Potter book publisher Bloomsbury regarding Jo's book series has now added JK Rowling as a defendant. A report detailing this news also includes a new comment from Jo, who reminds us she never even read the story she allegedly copied.

From Bloomberg:

The estate of English author Adrian Jacobs alleges in the complaint that part of his 1987 book, “The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No. 1 Livid Land,” was copied by Rowling. A year of wizard contests in the book was similar to a central theme of “The Goblet of Fire,” the estate says, according to a statement it issued today on PR Newswire issued today.

Jacobs’s estate sued Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in a London court in June, according to the statement. The estate claims that Jacobs used concepts and themes such as wizard prisons, wizard hospitals and wizard colleges before Rowling did. The two authors also shared an agent, Christopher Little, who manages the Harry Potter brand worldwide, according to the statement.

“I am saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry,” Rowling said today in a statement e-mailed by spokesman Mark Hutchinson. “The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author’s estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book.”

It's been almost two weeks since the Potter community came together with others online to raise money for the relief effort in Haiti. Since then, Helping Haiti Heal has raised close to $97,000 thanks to all of your incredible efforts!

If we get to the $105,000 mark, Partners in Health will name the three full cargo planes we funded after Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

This morning J.K. Rowling has passed along a message, specifically to all of you:

To everyone who has helped raise such an incredible amount for the earthquake survivors in Haiti: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Like many others, I made a personal donation to the DEC shortly after the earthquake happened; but never did I expect such an amazing response from all of you. You cannot imagine how awed, moved and humbled I am to know that planes named Harry, Ron and Hermione are going to be flying off to help. I did not need this to remind me how extraordinary Harry’s fans are, but you keep giving me proofs. THANK YOU! - Jo

Remember, that you can still donate right here with a chance to win some great prizes!

Sky News is reporting that Mattel has created a special JK Rowling Barbie doll - which, sadly, won't see mass production:

Harry Potter author JK Rowling, tennis champion Kim Clijsters and Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria have all been given the ultimate plastic accolade: being turned into a Barbie doll.

The JK Rowling doll, meanwhile, is dressed in the black wool suit and hot pink top combination she wore at the 2009 Monsters and Critics Award Banquet.

The three one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls, which will not go on general sale, are being showcased in Mattel’s showroom at the world's largest toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany.

Exhibitors from around the world are meeting to show off the trends that will fill this year's Christmas stockings.

See another photo of the JK Rowling Barbie at this link. We wish we could buy one! Thanks to Tove for the tip.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has donated a full U.K. edition set of her books, as well as a handwritten card, to Helping Haiti Heal, the multifandom donation drive kicking off tomorrow via Webcast.

This extremely rare item joins more than 100 special gifts, including a signed book by author Neil Gaiman, five dedicated books by Sir Terry Pratchett, original conception art from the film Where the Wild Things Are, and much, much more.

Join us at 2 p.m. Eastern tomorrow at thehpalliance.org/haiti to find out more about how to donate and stand a chance to receive any of these amazing gifts! All donations will benefit Partners in Health, an humanitarian organization in Haiti that has been aiding those most ravaged by the January 12 earthquake.

There is a very special collection of Harry Potter-related items up for sale on eBay this evening. 100% of the winning amount will be donated to two not-for-profit organizations. 50% will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Mid Florida Chapter, and the other 50% will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Sarasota, Inc.

The gem of the collection is a Deluxe Edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows signed by JK Rowling and Mary GrandPre. What's more, Mary GrandPre drew a sketch of Harry within the book - it is the only Deluxe Edition copy with such a treat.

Other items include a wand, cloak, and scarf donated by Alivan's, signed copies of MuggleNet's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 and Harry Potter Should Have Died, two MuggleNet shirts, a signed copy of Melissa Anelli's Harry, a History, and a National Multiple Sclerosis Society t-shirt and wristband.

The auction runs from now until January 21st. You can see a video news report about the auction at this link. Click here to read more details and to place your bid!

The Scotsman has released a list of 10 Scotswomen who changed the decade. The list "toasts the lassies who have made such a massive impact since the turn of the century." Unsurprisingly, Jo sits at the top of the list:

It is hard to think of a more powerful female figure to have emerged from Scotland in the past decade than JK Rowling. In 2000, Rowling was cementing her position as the world's most popular children's author with her fourth Harry Potter book, which broke all literary sales records in both the US and the UK. By 2007, Forbes magazine had ranked her the 48th most powerful celebrity in the world – not just for her enormous impact on child literacy but for her philanthropic work.

Her Volant Charitable Trust funds disadvantaged children and MS research. She is a vocal president of One Parent Families, and successfully campaigned for a law change in Romania concerning caged beds for orphans. Whatever she turns her hand to, Rowling has proved she is capable of effecting real change on a global scale.

To the surprise of no Harry Potter fan, The Telegraph has published a list of the bestselling authors of the decade and JK Rowling sits at the top:

The top 100 authors dominate sales. As The Bookseller has explained, some 100,000 titles are published every year, but these authors account for 1 pound in every 6 pound spent on books and a fifth of revenue. J K Rowling, who has seven of the decade’s top 10 bestsellers, sold 29 million books with a sales value of 215 pound million, but Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was the bestselling book of the decade, selling 5.2 million copies to 4.4 million for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

To view the full list of bestselling authors, click here.

On a related note, The Guardian recently published a list of this decade's icons. Harry Potter, of course, is on the list.

Author JK Rowling and her books The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows have ranked high in Amazon's authors and books of the decade lists.

On the "Top 10 best-selling books of the decade" list, Deathly Hallows took the number one spot, Half-Blood Prince followed in second place, and Beedle the Bard took sixth place.

JK Rowling ranks as the number one best selling author of the decade. She is followed by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, Julia Donaldson, and Terry Pratchett.

On a separate list, the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD ranked as the second best selling DVD behind Mamma Mia!

The Scotsman is reporting today that a rep for MS Society Scotland believes JK Rowling may return as a patron if an upcoming vote makes the Society independent again:

A special general meeting will this weekend hear the results of a ballot, including a resolution proposing the society in Scotland becomes independent.

Bill Findlay, a former chairman of the MS Society Scotland, said he believed that if the charity could start again as an independent body, Rowling would return as patron.

Visitors may remember that JK Rowling announced in April she was stepping down from her position in the Society after she could not "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."

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!