Wednesday, January 27, 2016

J.K. Rowling's Magic Touch Sends 'Harry Potter' Book Sales Booming . Honor to follow.

BookokTuesday 26 Jan 2016

J.K. Rowling turned her creative focus back to the popular world of Harry Potter last year and the results were stunning. Sales of the seven-book series, which concluded in July, 2007, nearly doubled last year in the United States.

Yahoo! News


PEN America to Honor Rowling, Pietsch

via Shelf Awareness

PEN America will honor author J.K. Rowling and Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch during the organization's annual gala May 16 in New York City.

Rowling, who will receive the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award, was cited for using her talents and stature as a writer to fight inequality on both a local and global level. "Through her writing, Rowling engenders imagination, empathy, humor, and a love of reading, along the way revealing moral choices that help us understand ourselves," said Andrew Solomon, president of PEN America. "Through their experiences with Rowling both on and off the page, countless children have learned not only the power of speaking their own minds, but the critical importance of hearing others. A gifted storyteller, fierce opponent of censorship, advocate for women's and girls' rights, and staunch defender of access to education, Rowling uses all of the tools at her disposal to create a better and more just world for our children."

Pietsch is being recognized "for his leadership in the fight against censorship by new and traditional actors," and for championing "the power of the unrestrained word." PEN executive director Suzanne Nossel commented: "As new technologies continually expand the space for creativity and new ideas to find a global audience, repressive forces are increasingly eager to silence those who challenge the status quo. Michael knows that writers who dare to see the world clearly are also those who ultimately have the greatest impact. As a leader in the fight against pervasive censorship, he has painstakingly reaffirmed literature as more than a consumer good: as a cultural currency in need of vehement protection."

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