In an effort to jazz surroundings up a bit, Ocean City Library in New Jersey, USA has created a mural of famous authors reclining in deck chairs on the beach. There are 10 authors in all, sitting with copies of their works in front of a backdrop of ‘recognisable’ buildings. When it was decided that JK Rowling would be one of the featured authors, the artists couldn’t resist painting Hogwarts into the backdrop! Here’s a picture of Jo’s section of the mural:

Let us know what you think of it!

ASPIRING authors in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth are being offered a pathway into the industry with a children’s literature writing competition.

If you think you are the next J.K. Rowling or Philip Pullman then this could be your opportunity to get your name out there and win some money to fund your ambition.

The Academy of Children’s Writers are offering £2000 to the winner of their ‘Write a Story for Children’ competition, with cash prizes also up for grabs for runners up.

A spokesperson for the Academy said: “The Academy of Children’s Writers are pleased to announce their 27th annual competition. For 26 years this has been recognised as the most prestigious competition for unpublished writers of children’s books in the UK.

“Entries may be short stories of up to 2000 words or the opening 2000 words of a longer story or novel.”

Entrants must be 18 or over and further information is available at www.childrens-writers.co.uk

The closing date for entries is March 31.

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P.S. Wish I lived in the UK I would enter… Anyway, good luck to all who enter! Can you imaigine if someone from IHOR becomes the next big writer?! That would be soooo amazing! Best of luck!

These kind of story touches many of us, so we wanted to share this story with you all.

Okay, so you probably wouldn’t match the brilliance of our Queen, but don’t let that discourage you from writing.The Manchester Evening News is holding a writing contest. They want to know your life story.

IT’S often said that everyone has a book inside them. A quick glance online shows there are plenty of frustrated writers out there who feel they have a novel just waiting to burst out. They pursue their dreams by penning blogs or paying for expensive courses promising to get them published.

Perhaps we should blame J.K. Rowling. Her story seems to inspire millions of “undiscovered” writers. One minute she’s a single mum scribbling about imaginary wizards in an Edinburgh café, the next she’s a multi-millionaire author whose Harry Potter books became the defining literary event of the century.

Sadly, most wannabe writers can’t magic her success out of thin air. For everyone J.K. Rowling, there are thousands of others who find putting pen to paper (or more likely finger to keyboard) isn’t a fast-track to fame and fortune.

For more information on the contest, click HERE.

I found this very fascinating article about a Rabbi who uses Harry to teach valuable life lesson. I just had to share this with, you guys. This just proves the fact that Jo has indeed changed the world in so many ways and how Harry will live on forever!

When the Hogwarts Express rolled to the end of its enchanting line, Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg was perhaps one of the more unlikely fans who mourned the conclusion of the series about the boy wizard.

Rosenberg became hooked on the Harry Potter books about a decade ago, when the sixth-grade students at his yeshiva were reading the first book.

He has since been dubbed “The Harry Potter rabbi” by congregants at his Kew Gardens Hills synagogue, Congregation Etz Chaim, and the Bronx yeshiva where he teaches, the SAR Academy in Riverdale.

The Potterphile has utilized the series in his classroom and synagogue to teach Jewish values. And his book “Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter” was published last month.

Author J.K. Rowling’s books are valuable, Rosenberg said, because they deal with all of life’s most essential questions.

“What gives life meaning? How do relationships work? What’s the interplay between good and evil and what are our obligations in that struggle?” he said. “All of these things are dealt with in the Bible as well.”

He compares the relationship between Harry, Hermione and Ron to the biblical trio of Moses, Miriam and Aaron. Both trios are marked by loyalty and heroism, as well as overcoming petty jealousies. One of his homework assignments was an essay exploring Jewish themes in the Potter stories.

In his book, Rosenberg demonstrates how popular literature can be utilized to examine ethical issues, from coping with loss to affirming human dignity.

Rosenberg regularly brought up the connections between Judaism and the Potter series in classroom discussions. He also created a Harry Potter Club, which encouraged his students to write their own sequels to the Potter series between Rowling’s releases of the volumes. In addition, he organized Quidditch games in the gym and took the students to see the Potter movies when they premiered in theaters.

In earlier eras, rabbis offered parables about horses and wagon drivers that resonated with the people of that time, Rosenberg said. The Potter books gave him a common language with his students, who are too young to appreciate the pop-culture references he was most familiar with – from Star Trek.

“It is a shame the [Potter] books have come to an end,” he lamented. “You can do the same sort of thing with other literature, but Harry Potter has so much that’s positive it’s hard to find something quite as rich. We’ll have to keep our eyes open.”

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MORE than 40 firefighters tackled a blaze in a terraced street where JK Rowling once lived.
The fire started in the ground floor flat of a colony-style house at Hazelbank Terrace in Shandon, Edinburgh, around 5:20am yesterday.

Dozens of families were evacuated and a woman was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary suffering from smoke inhalation. Residents said firefighters had difficulty reaching the blaze due to cars parked in the narrow street and had to run water hoses over back gardens.

Rowling moved to Hazelbank Terrace in 1997 with her daughter Jessica.

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P.S. We at IHOR all wish everyone effected by the fire wellbeing.

With the recent release of the final movie of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Harry Potter fanatics may be interested in learning that the childhood home of the incredible author of this fascinating series is currently on the market. That is right–you could be the proud owner of the home JK Rowling grew up in for a mere $343,000.

Rowling is known for her incredible plot twists, undeniable character development, and fascinating creation of a wizard world that has captured the hearts and minds of children to adults across the globe. But exactly where did Rowling obtain her inspiration to create such a great book series? There is no doubt that her Gothic-style childhood home, complete with attractive architecture and located on the border of Wales, greatly inspired her to dream big and create a fictional wizard world that has made her well-known across the world.

For example, one of the most loved parts of Harry Potter includes the Quidditch tournaments, a unique sport that includes seven players on each team. One of the teams is known as the Tutshill Tornadoes. Surely, this is just another creative name created by Rowling, a particular skill that can be identified in every book? Wrong—Tutshill is actually the name of the village that Rowling grew up in and where this fantastic home is located.

With an incredibly realistic price, I doubt this home will remain on the market very long. Harry Potter fans across the globe are probably keeping a keen eye on the home and are waiting for the prime time to make an offer and relish in the environment that Rowling herself grew up in. Imagine reading Harry Potter while being surrounded by the incredible views and astonishing architecture that inspired the creation of these world-renowned books.

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I found this amazingly funny Half-Blood Prince spoof on the web that I wanted to share with you all. Isn’t it soooo laugh out loud funny?