JK Rowling makes list of top power brokers

By Andrea McCallum

HARRY Potter author JK Rowling has made a list of top power brokers following the global success of her wizard novels.

The Edinburgh-based author has been branded as one of the world’s ‘most influential’ people and joins Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg in the league table compiled by American business magazine Forbes.

Although Forbes estimated Rowling’s fortune at £675m ($1 billion) she is ranked next to Gates ($53 billion) and Spielberg ($3 billion) because of her cultural reach.

Forbes placed Rowling at 937^th place in the world’s 1,000 richest people.

JK Rowling solicitors deny she forked out £300,000 to move house two weeks early

By Rory Reynolds

SOLICITORS acting for author JK ROWLING have denied reports she offered the previous owner of her new home £300,000 to move out early – so she could host a lavish Christmas bash.

The best-selling author was said to have conjured up £2.2 million to pay for an Edinburgh mansion, despite already owning one in the city’s leafy Merchiston area.

She bought the stunning 17th century home, on the west side of the city, after viewing just two of the 31 rooms.

However, respected legal firm Schillings have denied claims that the Harry Potter author phoned the owner the next day and offered to pay more if they could moved out early.

Rare ‘J.A.’Rowling uncorrected edition sells for £1,600

By Rory Reynolds

A RARE “uncorrected proof” edition of the first Harry Potter book in which J.K.Rowling’s name is spelled wrongly has been sold for £1600 at auction.

The plain-covered Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – written by ‘J.A.Rowling’ – was snapped up by a collector at Edinburgh’s Lyon & Turnbull auction house yesterday.

The copy was one of a handful sent to critics and booksellers around the UK to build up interest, after publishers Bloomsbury paid Rowling an advance of just £1,500.

The book, which also contains spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, was written on an old manual typewriter in coffee shops around Edinburgh as Rowling struggled as a single mother on benefits.

The Philosopher’s Stone was the first of seven novels, and the basis for the hugely successful film series, which brought Rowling a personal wealth of more than £500million.

Harry Potter book to be auctioned for kid’s charity

By Andrea McCallum

A FIRST edition of a Harry Potter book is expected to conjure up thousands of pounds for an Edinburgh children’s charity.

The rare signed copy has been given to Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids appeal from the city council who had 30 stored in their secret chambers.

Best-selling author J.K. Rowling had given the copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to former Lord Provost Lesley after it was published in 2005.

Harry Potter cafe welcomes struggling authors

By Rory Reynolds

THE famous café where JK Rowling penned her best-selling Harry Potter novels reopened its doors to fans yesterday.

Staff at the Nicholson Café in Edinburgh used to allow single mother Rowling to escape her chilly flat and sit in the café for whole days, writing her first novels with her baby daughter Jessica, for the price of a single coffee.

Now its new owners have reopened the café – which was a Chinese buffet restaurant for several years – and say they’ll stay true to the welcoming atmosphere at the newly named Spoon Cafe Bistro.

Owner Moira McFarlane, 42, says she’s more than happy for customers to escape the cold and spend the whole day reading, writing or chatting with friends.

She said: “It’s a big space, so we need to make it cosy – we will welcome people to come along and sit all day – and write books if they like.”

Jordan has been dumped

By Cara Sulieman

GLAMOUR model Jordan has been dumped – by fed up readers.

Jordan – real name Katie Price – publicly split with husband Peter Andre in May.

But while he’s riding high in the music charts she has topped the list of the most discarded books at Scots hotels.

The third installment of her life, Pushed to the Limit, is one of more than 7000 discarded books found in Travelodges across Scotland.

Controversial £1 Million library re-fit to go ahead

By Alexander Lawrie

A CONTROVERSIAL million pound re-fit of a popular library which forced a family out of their home has finally been given the go ahead.

The refurbishment of Morningside Library in the trendy quarter of Edinburgh populated by famous neighbours including Harry Potter creator JK Rowling, Rebus author Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith, will begin later this year.

It follows a lengthy legal wrangle which saw council tenant Graeme Middlemass and his family lose a court battle with Edinburgh Council two years ago to stay put,when a Sheriff ruled that they had to leave the flat they had called home for 13 years.

The city council won the battle for rights over what was the last remaining council flat, a £200,000 two-bedroom property situated above the library, which used to be occupied by the caretaker before it was let to the Middlemass family in July 1994.

Film fans being spied on by night vision goggles

By Alexander Lawrie

Bosses at a Scots cinema have ordered staff to spy on customers using night vision goggles in an audacious bid to clamp down on movie pirates.

Staff at the Vue cinema in Edinburgh are sent in at least three times during a film’s performance to scan the audience for illegal recording.

Advances in technology have meant pirates are far harder to detect, but the new £350-a-pair goggles can locate anyone in the auditorium using a hidden camera or mobile phone.

The move to crack down on film piracy has been backed by industry experts, but some customers have voiced their concerns about the high tech device.

Mystery of the vanishing cars in Potter writer’s patch

By Michael MacLeod

GANGS of thieves have nicked over £330,000 worth of cars in the space of two months from JK Rowling’s neighbourhood.

They have swiped 36 vehicles from Morningside, Edinburgh, including two top of the range Subarus, a Toyota Avensis, a Vauxhaul van and a Volvo C70.

After breaking into houses in the swanky city suburb and stealing car keys, the mobs move on to raid other homes before making off in the stolen get-away cars.

Police believe thugs are also specifically targeting upper-class homes in the Grange area where Scotland football manager George Burley and hated former RBS boss Fred Goodwin live.

Once inside, the thieves have taken jewellery, credit cards, cash and electrical goods, often during broad daylight.

Literacy Tsar to encourage the Bebo generation

By Alexander Lawrie

SCOTLAND is to get a teenage literacy tsar in a bid to encourage the Bebo generation to read more books.

In a country that has produced literary giants such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott and Ian Rankin there are real fears the age-old tradition is suffering.

But now the Scottish Book Trust (SBT) is set to appoint a Virtual Writer in Residence who will use the internet to get youngsters hooked on reading and writing.

The successful candidate will be announced next month after the success of an earlier pilot scheme.

Jasmine Fassl, an SBT spokesperson, said the virtual writer will not be based in any one location, will be working primarily online and will have a large task on their hands.