News & Press

"Like Charles Dickens, Rowling has given us a perfect Christmas treat - ideal to slip in any stocking" - The Times

"...a charming confection of a book from the world of Harry Potter with the sparkle and wit that remind us why she became a publishing sensation in the first place." - Associated Press

 
JK Rowling has expressed her thanks today to all those who have bought a copy of her charity book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, 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."

The first official international sales figures for Beedle, out today, show the book is set to become a Christmas bestseller. More than 2.6 million copies have been sold worldwide generating £4.2 million for the Children's High Level Group (CHLG), the charity co-founded by JK Rowling to help vulnerable children in Central and Eastern Europe.

 
Richard Alderslade, Chief Executive of CHLG, said: "We had no idea what to expect in terms of sales figures so we are thrilled by such impressive sales in the first week alone. Whatever the final total, and we do hope that Beedle stays on top of the bestsellers list for Christmas, the project will certainly raise a huge amount to fund our work, giving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children across Central and Eastern Europe a better life. Each time someone opens a copy of Beedle this Christmas or gives it as a gift, they will be making a difference to the life of a vulnerable child living not so very many miles away.

 
"Once again, we'd like to extend our thanks to JK Rowling for her ongoing support and for the wonderful gift of Beedle; not only the beautiful handcrafted copy we auctioned last year, but for allowing us to publish the tales so that people everywhere can enjoy them."

 
Currently the top-selling book of the year in the USA Today and the Daily Telegraph charts and number one on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and Waterstones.com, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by CHLG in collaboration with Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon.

 
The book has also been gathering rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic:

 
"I can think of only three authors who are genuine creators of new fairytales: Joan Aiken, Tolkien and E. Nesbit. Rowling is the fourth, blending the comic with the gorgeously grotesque and adding her own delicate line drawings. ... All of these tales - funny, sinister and wise and captivating - could have come new-minted from the Brothers Grimm. The pared-down language is tinged with antiquity but never patronises. Her gift for finding the perfect name and the unexpected twist is undimmed. Like Charles Dickens, Rowling has given us a perfect Christmas treat - ideal to slip in any stocking." - Amanda Craig, The Times (4 December 2008)

 
"No, not a new book about the young wizard - THAT would be like a birthday combined with Christmas! Instead, she's written a charming confection of a book from the world of Harry Potter with the sparkle and wit that remind us why she became a publishing sensation in the first place."  - AP (4 December 2008)

 
"Dump the Xanax and grab J.K. Rowling's ‘Tales of Beedle the Bard'. This charming little book is the best anti-anxiety medication on the market. Under the Bard's spell, readers will forget at least briefly the tsunami of bad news and find themselves happy and entertained."  - USA Today (5 December 2008)

 
[Ends]

 
For media enquiries, please contact: Anya Matthews or Ellie Backhouse at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666 / 07815 634396 / 07890 645821

anya@colmangetty.co.uk / ellie@colmangetty.co.uk

 
For enquiries relating to Bloomsbury, Scholastic or Amazon, including jacket visuals and review copy requests, please contact:

Bloomsbury - Ian Lamb, ian_lamb@bloomsbury.com / +44 (0) 20 7494 6340
www.bloomsbury.com/beedlebard

Scholastic - Kris Moran, KMoran@Scholastic.com / +1 212 389 3789
www.scholastic.com/harrypotter

 
Amazon - Amazon Media Hotline, www.amazon.com/pr / +1 206 266 7180
www.amazon.com/beedlebard

 
For all publishing enquiries, please contact: Christopher Little Literary Agency:
Romily Must, +44 (0) 20 7736 4455 or romily@christopherlittle.net

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by The Children's High Level Group (CHLG), registered charity number 1112575, a charity co-founded in 2005 by JK Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP to make life better for vulnerable children. www.chlg.org
• CHLG works at both a practical and political level to make life better for these vulnerable children. With the money raised from sales of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the charity will begin de-institutionalisation projects in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, and the Czech Republic. The funds will also be used to continue CHLG's community outreach and education work in Armenia, Georgia and Romania, where the charity first began operating.
• There are three editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the English language - mass market versions printed and distributed by Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the US, and a run of up to 100,000 collector's edition copies printed and distributed by Amazon
• The worldwide print run for The Tales of Beedle the Bard is over 8 million copies
• JK Rowling has waived her royalties, and net proceeds from sales will be donated to the charity
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard was launched at a tea party for 220 children at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK on Thursday 4 December 2008
• The five tales in The Tales of Beedle the Bard are: ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune', ‘The Warlock's Hairy Heart', ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers', ‘The Wizard and the Hopping Pot' and ‘Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump'
• In 2007, JK Rowling produced seven individual copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Each was handwritten and illustrated on vellum, bound in brown morocco leather and mounted with different semi-precious stones. Six of the books were given by the author to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books over the last 17 years; the seventh was given to CHLG and auctioned by the charity at Sotheby's in London
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard broke several records - auction record for a modern literary manuscript, auction record for a work by JK Rowling, and auction record for a children's book - when it sold at Sotheby's on 13 December 2007 for £1.95 million. The winning bid was submitted by Amazon
• Barry Cunningham's original copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is on display at The National Library of Scotland as part of a Beedle exhibition until 4 January 2009 (except Public Holidays), from 10am - 8pm www.nls.uk
• Another original copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is on display until 4 January at The New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street by permission of Arthur A. Levine, Scholastic co-editor of all seven books in the Harry Potter series
• When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final of the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling, was published on 21 July 2007, it broke all sales records as the fastest-selling book ever. The Harry Potter books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide; they are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 different languages