Harry Potter prequel sold for £25,000 at auction
Harry Potter prequel sold for £25,000 at charity auction
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Wednesday, 11, Jun 2008 10:26
A prequel to the Harry Potter series of novels has been sold for £25,000 at a charity auction.
JK Rowling wrote a 800-word outline of a preface to the stories of the boy wizard but the text will not be published, instead being auctioned for the English PEN and Dyslexia Action charities.
The printed postcard book featured alongside lots from Tom Stoppard, whose offering fetched £4,000, and Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, whose card went for £3,000.
Speaking after the auction at Waterstone's in London's Piccadilly, Rowling told the Reuters news agency: "I had great fun writing the card and I'm absolutely delighted that it has raised £25,000 for two such worthy causes."
Though the details of Rowling's contribution are not known, her outline ends with the handwritten dedication reading: "From the prequel I am not working on - but that was fun!"
Prior to the auction, Sotheby's specialist Philip Errington had said that in light of the £1.95 million paid for Rowling's handwritten book of stories The Tales of Beedle the Bard in December, "there is just no telling how high the bidding might go" for the Potter prequel.
Other authors involved include Margaret Attwood, Lauren Child, Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, Michael Rosen and Sebastian Faulks.