New videos of JK Rowling at The Tales of Beedle the Bard release in Edinburgh has been posted on the Bloomsbury website. At the tea party which housed roughly 200 students, she signs copies of Beedle, answers a few questions, and reads an except from the book.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard was released on December 4, 2008. Thanks HarryLatino.com!

A new contest organized by ABE Books is offering the winner a collector's edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard costing $100. The prize also includes a very rare copy of the original Sotheby's catalog for the auction of the hand-written version of the book. The catalog features close-up pictures of the book, and few copies were distributed.

For details on how to enter, click here.

Scholastic has issued a press release this morning, detailing the first official international sales figures for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which has sold 2.6 million copies and grossed roughly $8.5 million in its first full week for the The Childiren's High Level Group.

J.K. Rowling has expressed her thanks today to all those who have bought a copy of her charity book, making it the fastest selling title of 2008 and raising millions of pounds for children suffering in institutions.

"I am absolutely delighted that so much money has been raised," she said, "and would like to thank everyone who has so far purchased a copy of the book. All royalties will be going to help children without families, many of them with disabilities, whose voices have been unheard for many years."

Read the rest of the press release below.

Last week, we told you about some rumors that revealed Warner Brother's interest in creating a film based off of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Now, the Los Angeles Times has an interesting piece about what WB could do to make it a successful film. For example:

Expand "The Warlock's Hairy Heart" -- and don't fuss with the ending. The darkest of the stories is also the most ripe for fleshing out into a two-hour movie, should Rowling be interested in picking the unconventional fairy tale back up. We'd need to see the Warlock before he decided to stow away his heart, lest we watch the selfish wretch for two hours straight, it'd be kind of gory, and without a happy ending. But there are directors who know a thing or two about dark fantasies. ("Pan's Labyrinth" anyone? Looking at you, Guillermo del Toro.)

Do you think WB could pull it off? Tell us your answer in our latest Beedle poll, on the right side of this page.

On top of this morning's news of The Tales of Beedle the Bard becoming the fastest selling book of 2008, USA Today now reports that it's holding the #1 spot on their bestseller list:

Stephenie Meyer, the American author who is often called the new J.K. Rowling, has been bumped from the top of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list — by J.K. Rowling.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Rowling's collection of five fairy tales, will enter the list Thursday at No. 1.

Even though Rowling has loosened Meyer's iron grip on the top spot, Meyer's teen vampire novels remain sizzling hot, thanks to the hit movie adaptation of Twilight, the first book in the series.

The Telegraph is reporting that JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard has become the fastest selling book of 2008:

The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.

Next on the list was Guinness World Records 2008, which sold 73,000 over the same time period, according to market analysts Nielsen BookScan.

Philip Stone, charts editor at The Bookseller magazine, commented: "None of the other big releases managed to get near the sales figure for Beedle the Bard. I would be very surprised if it is not Christmas number one, but it's not a dead cert."

Congratulations, Jo!

According to a report earlier today from CinemaBlend.com, Warner Brothers is looking into making The Tales of Beedle the Bard a major motion picture.

"Knowing that the magical gravy train is coming to an end, the WB is looking for ways to squeeze more out of Potter."

According to their sources, WB is still trying to figure out exactly how the book would translate into a film.

Please remember that this is pure speculation and should be treated as a rumor until more info becomes available!

Thanks to Kat for the tip!

Have you ever wanted to go to Hogwarts? Magical Tours is currently registering for their summer 2009 tours but they are filling up fast! This is your chance to join other MuggleNet visitors on a once in a lifetime trip to see the filming locations of the movies! To read more about the filming locations visit FindHogwarts.com and then learn about the tours at Magicaltours.org

To celebrate the release of JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Magical Tours is giving away one Collector's Edition of the book to the person who submits the best Harry Potter fan photo! There are other great prizes as well including wands from Alivan's! Upload your best fan photograph from a Harry Potter related event - whether it's a tour, a book release party, or just waiting to see the movie with friends! We want to see pictures that best capture the Harry Potter phenomenon!

Entries are due Monday, December 8th. Click Here for more details and the complete rules.

MuggleNet reader Emily was one of the lucky winners of Scholastic's Beedle the Bard essay competition, and she filed this report for us from within Jo's tea party held on Thursday. You can read the full report at the link below.

The event started off with J.K. Rowling reading “The Fountain of Fair-Fortune”. It was entrancing the way she read the story out loud. After she finished reading, Barry started off a question and answer session, where kids asked pre-submitted questions that were picked to be asked. One very moving question was about how Jo came up with the idea for her charity. She read in the newspaper about a boy who was kept in a cage bed at an institution for children in Europe; literally, a bed with a cage on top. Also, she addressed what her charity is for and what the money raised is used for.

We've mentioned a few times tonight MuggleNet staff member Christie, who was in Scotland to check out what was going on at Jo's reading of Beedle the Bard. She's just filed this report for us, detailing what went on:

I was able to speak to several people as they came out of the National Library of Scotland after Jo's Beedle the Bard reading this evening. As it turns out, the event for children that has been advertised was held earlier in the afternoon in the Avocate's Library.

According to a library employee, this evening's events included a reading of The Fountain of Fair Fortune as well as speeches thanking the publishers and editors from throughout her career.

The first person I spoke to actually approached me. He was an older man who leaned in conspiratorially to whisper, "She's not just a good writer, she's also quite sexy."

Read the full report at the link below. Thanks again, Christie!

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!

BBC News covered our live podcast at Waterstone's last night and has this video online from when the books went on sale at midnight. The Scotsman has an article highlighting a midnight release party in Scotland, and they quote MuggleNet staff member Christie Roberts and her friend. The Telegraph also made note of the midnight release and quoted my first review from this morning.

As for reviews, those are surfacing through various press outlets: The Daily Mail, The Associated Press, and The Telegraph.

Much more to come later today! JK Rowling's Beedle release party will begin shortly in Edinburgh, and we hope to have pictures from the event.

It's finally here! JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard is now available in the United States and United Kingdom. Fans across the world have participated in midnight release parties (including ours) to celebrate the book.

Those of us in the UK right now have had a few hours to digest what we've just purchased for charity. The book is honestly a work of art - as precious as one of the original seven copies. The pages of the book feel so delicate, enclosed by a hardback cover with a soft texture. Each tale ends with a few pages of additional details from Albus Dumbledore, and JKR added a few (quite humorous) footnotes to each detail area so that we can understand some of the things Albus gets into.

What are YOUR thoughts on Beedle if you've gotten your hands on it? Leave 'em in the comments below! We're eager to see what the fandom thinks. MuggleCast will be recording a full review show in the next few days. If you want to participate, send an e-mail to mugglecast at staff dot mugglenet dot com with any questions or comments you have.

As Scholastic promised, a video of editor Arthur Levine reading his handwritten copy of the book can be found right here. Just scroll down to "Video Downloads" to see that and video of Wednesday's media unveiling at the New York Public Library!

Earlier today, one of the seven original handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard was unveiled at the New York Public Library. Performing the honors were Arthur Levine, Scholastic co-editor of the Harry Potter series and Paul LeClerc, President of the New York Public Library.

Levine, who has lent his own personal copy to the library for display discussed the importance of the Potter series as a whole and his enjoyment in working on The Tales of Beedle the Bard, particularly the back and forth commentary between author J.K. Rowling and Albus Dumbledore. He went on to say that his favorite tale was the "Fountain of Fair Fortune," which you can see him reading from later tonight. Video and pictures of Rowling and Levine reading from Beedle the Bard will be available right here at 12:01 AM EST.

The book will be on display in a free exhibit (within the library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library) from December 5th until January 4th. Scholastic also announced that they'll be donating three copies of the book to all 87 branches of the New York Public Library. Following its run at the library the book will reside at Brown University, Levine's alma mater.

I was able to capture a few photos at the event which you can see below:

Before the unveiling
Copy unveiled by Arthur Levine and Paul LeClerc
Full Beedle the Bard display
Poster in display case
Paul LeClerc with display, Beedle boxes and video
Close-up: Beedle the Bard
Close-up: Opening Page

Scholastic has also sent us the following three photos:

Scholastic 1
Scholastic 2
Scholastic 3

- The AP's London base has a new report about The Tales of Beedle the Bard online tonight, and we now know that 8 million copies have been printed for the initial worldwide release. 3.5 million of those copies are in the US alone.

- Lastly, one MuggleNet reader has reported seeing the book already on sale. From Michael: [My friend] was shopping at our local Kroger Supermarket when she surprisingly came across the new Tales of Beedle the Bard book. She was outraged because the book's release is not until Thursday December 4th. She refused to open and read the book, but took plenty of photos of her finding (with herself and the supermarket in plain view of the books on the shelf). I immediately notified the store manager about the dilemma but he was very rude about the matter. So, I made a phone call to Scholastic Inc. They were very helpful and are currently trying to solve this problem as we speak.

The release of JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a for-charity Potter fairy tale book, is just hours away.

If you're not heading to one of the many midnight release parties, you can order the book from Amazon for only $7.14! All proceeds go to the Children's High Level Group charity.

In addition to MuggleCast's live show at Waterstones Piccadilly and Whimsic Alley's release party, it has now been announced that most Borders and Waldenbooks stores will host release parties beginning at 6 p.m. on December 4.

The release notes that "the events will include trivia games, arts-and-crafts activities and a discussion of a crucial chapter from 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' that features one of the fables detailed in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard.'"

Please contact your local Borders or Waldenbooks to find out their plans!

USA Today has published a new article highlighting the upcoming release of The Tales of the Beedle the Bard. It it, there's a brief quote from Scholastic editor Arthur Levine, who speaks highly of the book:

"They feel like folk tales or fairy tales that have been around forever," says Arthur Levine of Scholastic, Rowling's U.S. publisher. "They're as good as any Grimm tale that you might have read in your own childhood. But that's just Rowling's incredible skill."

Beedle the Bard will be released this Thursday, December 4th. We'll have much more on events surrounding the book throughout the week, so stay tuned!

For Harry Potter fans in Southern California, Whimsic Alley is the place to be Wednesday night when The Tales of Beedle the Bard is released.

The party starts on December 3rd around 10:00 p.m. PT with refreshments, games, contests, readings, and special guests. The book goes on sale at midnight.

Admission to the event is free to all who would like to attend and no purchase is necessary. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes.

WhimsicAlley.com is also offering all MuggleNet readers a 15% discount on your order this holiday season. Click below for complete information on this special offer as well as further details on the release party.