15 Public Libraries Win Harry Potter Librarians' Contest From Scholastic To Host 15th Anniversary Potter Parties

NEW YORK, Aug. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of the 15^th anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first book in the award-winning Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, 15 public libraries nationwide have been chosen as winners of the Harry Potter Public Librarian Contest from Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of the series. Taking inspiration from the series, hundreds of librarians submitted their ideas for Harry Potter celebrations designed to introduce a new generation of readers to the wizarding world.  Librarians' ideas include serving Harry Potter-themed food, hosting trivia contests, dressing up as favorite Potter characters, having live owls, house-sorting parties, scavenger hunts, Quidditch matches, wand-making, and classes from Hogwarts such as Potions, Divination, and Herbology.  Potter parties will be held on or around August 27, 2013, the date when the new U.S. trade paperbacked editions of the books featuring all new covers by #1 New York Times bestselling author/artist, Kazu Kibuishi are released.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100907/SCHOLASTICLOGO )

Each of the 15 winning libraries will receive:

• 100 copies of the new trade paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, with the new cover illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, to give away at the celebration
• One new paperback boxed set of all seven Harry Potter books signed by Kibuishi for the library
• $100 gift card towards the Harry Potter celebration
• A Harry Potter event kit with sticker sheets, name tags, bookmarks, activities, and more

A panel of judges from Scholastic read the hundreds of entries and winners were chosen based on creativity, originality, and their promotional plans to help bring Harry Potter to life for a whole new generation of readers. The 15 library winners are (listed alphabetically):

• Anderson County Library (Anderson County, SC)
• Apache Junction Public Library (Apache Junction, AZ)
• Arapahoe Library District (Centennial, CO)
• Carl Sandburg Branch, Livonia Public Library (Livonia, MI)
• DeKalb Public Library (DeKalb, IL)
• Dover Public Library (Dover, DE)
• Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Branch (Erlanger, KY)
• Lawrence Public Library (Fairfield, ME)
• Meadowridge Library (Madison, WI)
• Newberg Public Library (Newberg, OR)
• North Canton Public Library (North Canton, OH)
• Port Jefferson Library (Port Jefferson, NY)
• Portneuf District Library (Chubbuck, ID)
• Rancho Cucamonga Library (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
• The Colony Public Library (The Colony, TX)

For a list of library event dates, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/harrypotter

"We are thrilled to see librarians remain passionate and committed to spreading their love of Harry Potter," said Ellie Berger, President of Trade Publishing. "The entries were so creative in their plans to recreate Harry's world in their libraries. They thought of everything from beginning to end: transforming a hallway into platform nine and three-quarters, even traveling by Portkey!"

Librarians can use the resources available from the Harry Potter Reading Club website. For each of the seven Harry Potter novels, the Harry Potter Reading Club provides activities and comprehensive discussion guides with questions to help club members start an insightful conversation about the themes and events in the books and, in certain instances, how the books may relate to readers' own lives and the world today.

To learn more about Harry Potter and to view or download the new cover art by Kazu Kibuishi, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/harrypotter. 

Fifteen years after the first U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in September 1998, there are more than 150 million Harry Potter books in print in the United States alone and the series still hits bestseller lists regularly. The seven Harry Potter books are published in over 200 territories in 74 languages and have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide.

To learn more about Scholastic, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com. 

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.