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By Paul Majendie
LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - With Harry Potter weaving his magic worldwide at the movies, author JK Rowling has offered a tantalising glimpse into the next instalment of her wizard saga.
But you will have to pay up to 6,000 pounds ($9,500) for a clue to what might happen in the eagerly awaited Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.
The author of the world's most popular children's books has provided a teaser - 93 random words on a card that is up for auction next month at Sotheby's in London. The sale is for Book Aid International, which provides books for developing countries.
Sotheby's on Wednesday offered a short sample of what the lucky winner will get on the autographed Rowling card.
"Thirty-eight chapters ... might change ... longest volume ... Ron ... broom ... sacked ... house-elf ... new teacher ... dies ... sorry," Rowling writes in a literary trailer certain to spark a fever of anticipation among her devoted readers.
Fervent Potter fans will have to wait until the December 12 auction to bid for the rest of the plot outline.
Philip Errington, children's book expert at Sotheby's, told Reuters: "It is a very exciting item and this type of thing does not come up very often. "The word 'Die' certainly is a bit of a teaser."
The Potter plot outline is expected to fetch up to 6,000 pounds and Errington said: "It should retain its curiosity value for years to come."
Harry Potter has sold 175 million copies in 59 languages and Rowling has been hailed by the publishing industry for teaching children the joy of reading in an age of TV, cartoons and computer games. Movies based on the first two Potter books have been worldwide hits. The latest - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets - broke the box office record in Britain on its first weekend. That record had been set last year by Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone.
In September, Rowling offered good news for millions of children longing for the next instalment from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "I really am getting there," she said. "But I'm a perfectionist and I want a bit more of a tweak." She would not be tied down on an exact publication date. "I'd rather not say just in case I have a bus accident and things get knocked off track. It won't be too long," she told BBC Television.
Asked on Wednesday for an update on the book's progress, a spokeswoman for Rowling told Reuters: "There is no further news. She is still busy writing. There is still no confirmed date for publication." But surely she could provide more clues on the plot? "I know no more than what is on that card," she said.
(C) Reuters Limited 2002.
Source: REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE - UNITED KINGDOM
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE 20/11/2002
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J.K. Rowling is more of a tease than... *considers* ANYONE.
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