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As reported previously, Scholastic gave the paperback editions of the Harry Potter novels a whole new look. Recently, Bloomsbury has decided to follow suit and apply new cover art to the UK paperback editions of the series. Johnny Duddle will be giving the books new front cover, spine, and back cover design. The inside of the books will also be updated with new font for the ease of children, an updated bio for J.K. Rowling, and a Pottermore section that will give instructions on how to use Pottermore. Pottermore will be publishing the e-versions of the new books. Leakynews posted:

<!--StartFragment--> Autumn is slowly creeping into the atmosphere with its dropping temperatures and beautifully changing leaves, and Overlook has brand new paperbacks to enjoy while you're wrapped up in a sweater enjoying a mug of hot cocoa. From crime thrillers and totalitarian art to celebrity stories and a history of magic, this list will surely provide  something for every book lover.

Whether you’re heading to sun yourself on the sand or staying inside and watching a thunderstorm brew, Overlook has a brand new paperback for every mood, interest, and forecast. We promise you’ll be too engrossed in literature to count the days left before the leaves litter your walkway. This month we’re releasing super thrillers, probing historical explorations, intriguing memoirs, Russian plays

Bloomsbury wants to know: are you the biggest Harry Potter fan?

The British publisher of the Harry Potter series is hosting a competition to find the biggest fan in the U.K. and Ireland. Fans will only be able to enter the competition by submitting an entry though participating bookshops and libraries. More than 1,800 venues will be participating; a map and list of locations is provided on Bloomsbury's website.

Instructions to enter the competition are as follows:

The grand prize winner will receive a family holiday to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort and a leather-bound, signed, dedicated and numbered 15th Anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Fourteen runners-up will also be chosen, and they too will receive the aforementioned 15th anniversary edition of Philsopher's Stone.

The competition begins today and will run until July 31st. Good luck to all who enter!

According to BBC News, a group of more than 60 scholars have congregated at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland to discuss the literary merits of the Harry Potter series over the next two days.

The conference, entitled "A Brand of Fictional Magic: Reading Harry Potter as Literature," will feature over 50 lectures about the series with topics ranging from the role of paganism, British national identity and how death is dealt with in the books. A complete anthology based on this conference is expected to be published in 2013.

Conference organizer, Professor John Patrick Pazdziora, had this to say about putting together such a conference:

"We can't avoid the fact that Harry Potter is the main narrative experience of an entire generation - the children who literally grew up with Harry Potter.

"The Harry Potter novels are simply the most important and influential children's books of the late-20th and early 21st Centuries."

"For very many people, this is their first experience of literature, and of literary art. So they want to think about it, and analyse it, and talk about it."

Spring is (finally) in the air. Although we officially left winter behind almost two months ago, only recently have the pre-summer months begun to offer their full bounty. Birds are chirping, trees are blooming, flowers are blossoming, and baseball season is in full swing. Because spring is a season to celebrate rebirth and renewal, there's no better time to dive into a paperback. This month

J.K. Rowling will receive the Freedom of the City of London on Tuesday, May 8 for her services to children's literature, according to a press release from the City of London.

The ceremony will take place at the Mansion House, the official residence of London's Lord Mayor. She will read aloud the Declaration of a Freeman and be presented with a framed parchment certificate.

In a statement, Ms. Rowling spoke of what the award means to her and some special perks:

“Both my parents were Londoners.  They met on a train departing from King’s Cross Station in 1964, and while neither of them ever lived in London again, both their daughters headed straight for the capital the moment that they were independent.  To me, London is packed with personal memories, but it has never lost the aura of excitement and mystery that it had during trips to see family as a child.

“I am prouder than I can say to be given the Freedom of the City, which, on top of all the known benefits (and few people realize this), entitles me to a free pint in The Leaky Cauldron and a ten Galleon voucher to spend in Diagon Alley.”

The Freedom of the City of London can be traced back to 1237. Today, people are presented with the award because it offers them a link with the historic City of London and one of its ancient traditions.

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Researchers at the University of Calgary have complied a one-of-a-kind collection of 70 translations of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" novels and have published selections from those translations online, reports the Vancouver Sun.  Geared to educators, students and Potter-fans alike, the resource "will feature images from international dust jackets and audio files with selections from each of the 70 translations, including Afrikaans, Hindi, ancient Greek and Latin."  Russian literature professor and the leader behind this project, Nicholas Zekulin, says:

"It's a work which presents real challenges for the translator," said Zekulin. "How do you translate 'quidditch'? Nobody can... The Ukrainian translation is interesting. They don't have (Hogwarts) school, they have an orphanage. And the reason is that in Ukrainian culture, the idea of a boarding school is completely unknown. The only thing they could conceive of as bringing children together was an orphanage."

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]-->Many may know New Jersey as the setting of popular TV shows such as The Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and The Sopranos, or for it's famous musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, but New Jersey has more to offer than

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]-->2011 marks the 2500^th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, perhaps the most decisive event in the struggle between the Greeks and the Persians, and also a defining event for Western civilization. Available this week in paperback, MARATHON is the riveting history of the famed battle by Columbia University professor Richard A. Billows. We have Richard with us today on the blog to answer a few questions about his most recent book.

OP: The legend of the Greek messenger running twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens with news of victory in battle is the inspiration for our modern-day race. Sources suggest that in reality, the entire Greek army marched this distance to defend Athens. Why does this popular myth persist in spite of its historical inaccuracy?