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J.K. Rowling plans an L.A. visit for the final “Harry”

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In a rare tour of three U.S. cities for the seventh and final ‘Harry Potter’ novel, author J.K. Rowling will read to L.A.-area school kids and sign books at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre on Oct. 15, the author announced today.

Three student-only events are planned by the billionaire British writer to promote ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’ The book, which won’t be released until 12:01 a.m. on July 21, is already Amazon’s No. 1 seller, with pre-orders running well ahead of Khaled Hosseini’s critically acclaimed bestseller, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns.’

‘What J.K. Rowling loves most is to talk with her readers, and that is what she will be able to do on this very special U.S. tour,’ said Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Books’ children’s division. ‘Rowling will engage in lively conversations with her fans in each of the three cities she will visit, seeking to once again experience touring the way it all began 10 years ago and the way she most enjoys--with a book, an author and her readers.’

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Rowling’s other readings will take place at New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Oct. 18 and at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Oct. 19. Another Carnegie Hall reading the same evening will be open to 1,000 fans of any age lucky enough to win a pair of tickets. Sweepstakes entry rules and information will be available beginning July 30 on Scholastic’s website.

Tomorrow is the entry deadline for another sweepstakes, the chance to fly to London to attend Rowling’s July 21 midnight reading of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ at the Natural History Museum. Seven U.S. winners will be chosen at random. Slackers will have to rush a printed entry form marked ‘for Friday delivery’ to: Scholastic, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Sweepstakes, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

In the meantime, bookstores across the Southland are gearing up for Hogwarts-style release parties for the night of July 20. Scholastic plans a first U.S. run of 12 million copies (under the Arthur A. Levine imprint), up from 10 million for 2005’s ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’

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As for who can attend the 3,400-seat Kodak Theatre event, Scholastic will pick a local school in September. The chosen school ‘will be given a Sorting Hat [for a] random drawing of students.’ No word yet on how Scholastic will select the winning school.
Kristina Lindgren

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