Monique from SoMisguided.com was one of the lucky people who atttended JK Rowling’s event at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto last week. She’s written up a report of the event: to read it, click here.

If you were at the event and want to share your experience with other Harry Potter fans, leave a comment here or post a link to your own blog post about it.

Personally, I had a fabulous time at the event. The Winter Garden Theatre was a perfectly magical setting, as the theatre’s ceilings are lined with leaves and colourful lanterns—the above photo of the theatre was taken by one of our ticket winners, Lesley, a few weeks before the event took place. (Thanks, Lesley!) JK Rowling was a fantastic presenter. One of the funniest parts was that the microphone screeched at one point when she imitated Hermione screaming at Ron—very appropriate. When JK Rowling was answering questions from the audience, I almost cried when she started talking about George and how he’d never really be whole again after losing Fred—and I know I wasn’t the only one who was holding in tears.  I was so glad to see how happy she was when we presented her with the huge “Canada Thanks JK Rowling” books which contained messages to JK from fans across Canada. (I’ll post some photos of the books soon!) All in all, it was an amazing day.

Finally, after all the waiting, JK Rowling arrived infront of a crowd of nearly one thousand people to read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Toronto yesterday!


The entire event went off without hitch. Despite traffic jams, heavy rain, and major subway problems, the Winter Garden Theatre was packed full of fans brimming with excitement. When JK Rowling strode onto the stage, she was greeted by an almost deafening standing ovation. After the cheers died down, JK Rowling spoke a few words about how excited she was to be here, and read from the chapter titled “The Silver Doe” beginning in the middle of the chapter on page 308 when Ron returns and is reunited with Harry and Hermione.

The event continued with 12 questions from fans and a presentation by Raincoast Books of two volumes of a giant “Canada Thanks JK Rowling Book” in which were pages of notes from fans collected from bookstores and libraries all over Canada. After a short break, JK Rowling returned to sign books and exchange words with all the fans who came up on stage to meet her.

It was an amazing experience and I felt so lucky to be a part of it and meet so many of the Raincoast winners as well!


If you would like a more detailed summary check out this posting by Amanda, one of our lucky winners, who wanted to make sure that anyone who couldn’t attend could at least hear a little more about what went on inside the theatre doors: http://blogs.raincoast.com/weblog/comments/the-final-list-of-winners-for-the-jk-rowling-contest/P25/
Thank-you Amanda!

And here it is… the final list for the JK Rowling Comes to the Winter Garden Theatre event!

Sarah Wen: Toronto, ON
Deborah Fisher: Toronto, ON
Amanda Gauvin: Brampton, ON
Mason Biswas: Toronto, ON
Zubair Islam: Toronto, ON
Scott Langill: Toronto, ON
Heather Bownes: Victoria, BC
Michael Reio: Toronto, ON
Jo-Ellen Beck: Toronto, ON
Cole Campbell: Manitowaning, ON

And there you have it. The JK Rowling Contest is officially over.

Thank-you to all of you who entered so persistently and especially to those of you who took the time to comment on the blog postings. I’m sorry I couldn’t cheat and have all of you win, but I just kept thinking: ‘What would Dumbledore do?’

Please continue to visit our blog! There are more fun topics to discuss, contests to enter, and great suggestions for books to read. We love hearing from you!

We’re almost at the end! The following people can now let go of that breath they’ve been holding:

Jennifer Raymond-Bhatt: Calgary, AB
Ffiona Barnett: Whitby, ON
Deanna Hemsley: Milton, ON
Krista Hewitt: Cavan, ON
Sara-Jane Whitaker: Toronto, ON
Victoria Wighton: Mississauga, ON
Calvin Gaspar: Parry Sound, ON
Kerianne Cass: Markham, ON
Alyse Murray: Toronto, ON
Jowella Mendoza: Edmonton, AB

ONE MORE CHANCE!!!

There are now, officially, only 10 more slots left for the Raincoast winners. Today is the very last day to enter. The draw for today happens on Monday and try not to waste your time: we’re only drawing names from today, NOT from Saturday and Sunday.

This is it.  Hold on tight to your luckiest charm and enter here: http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

It’s nearing the end of the contest and tension is high. I’m going to relieve 10 people from the stress today, but for the rest of you, there are still two days left. It’s not over!!!

Tyler Greig: Burlington, ON
Len Kay: Dundas, ON
Michael Milakovic: Toronto, ON
Allison Mcdonald: Ottawa, ON
Jessica Batenburg: Beamsville, ON
Amanda Charlesworth: Toronto, ON
Donna Yee: Toronto, ON
Cecilia Manuel: Markham, ON
Amanda Lee: Markham, ON
Valerie Honey: Elliot Lake, ON

So there you have them. The rest of you, make sure you enter today and tomorrow! http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

And for those of you who are frustrated that only Ontario seems to be winning, let me shed some light on it for you. Out of 3499 entrants, only 293 were from outside of Ontario (AB 50; BC 58; MB 14; NB 10; NF 11; NS 19; PE 2; QC 121; SK 7; YT 1). But don’t lose hope, because five of our winners so far are from other provinces. There are two days left. There is still hope!

Hang in there everyone!!!

It’s great being the bearer of good news for 10 people each day, but it breaks my heart to see how many people I disappoint every time I post these names! Don’t lose hope everyone! You still have a chance! Remember, these names are drawn randomly, so it’s nothing personal!!!

Out of 3596 entrants, here are the lucky 10 for today:

Sam Coghlan: Embro, ON
Jessica Worobess: Toronto, ON
Shaidah Dehghan: Richmond Hill, ON
Shannon Taugher: Etobicoke, ON
Dania Najam: Mississauga, ON
Eric Wu: Thornhill, ON
Sue Pitts: Milton, ON
Laura Schlee: Toronto, ON
Aryan Ganji: Toronto, ON
Rosalina Lo: Scarborough, ON

Congratulations!

And PLEASE don’t despair if your name isn’t up! You still have THREE more chances!!!

http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

The list is up! A little sooner than yesterday, thankfully. Mostly due to a smaller amount of entrants, which, to remind you, increases everyone else’s odds! Yay!

So, out of 3635 entrants, here are the 10 winners:

Athena Trastelis: Toronto, ON
Anthony Ironside: Ajax, ON
Vince Gonzalez: Mississauga, ON
Sidney Labbe: Ottawa, ON
Arielle Amacker, Toronto, ON
Tammy Morrison: Dunnville, ON
Renee Abbott: Barrie, ON
Sara Rabiei: Toronto, ON
Tamara Grahn: Dartmouth, NS
Holly Strach: Oshawa, ON

Don’t lose hope! There are still four days left!

http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

Here it is! The list! So sorry to keep you all waiting!!! 

And the winners are...

Jake Kalbhenn: Toronto, ON
Anneli Desroches: Penetanguishene, ON
Elinor Fridman: Toronto, ON
Katrine Chiu: Toronto, ON
Erin Greenizan: Ridgeville, ON
Derek Vittie: Innisfil, ON
Dominique Holmes: Scarborough, ON
Jessica Lewis: Toronto, ON
Lesley Antle: Toronto, ON
Joni Brunton: Etobicoke, ON

Five more chances left! Enter here: http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

Wow! Even I’m feeling the anxiety!

I know a lot of Harry Potter fans are anxiously checking the blog today… so I just wanted to post a quick not to say sorry that it’s taking so long to post the contest winners’ names today! We got an AVALANCHE of entries over the weekend, so it’s taking a while to sort through them all and remove the duplicate entries. We just want to make sure it’s fair for everyone. So be patient! We will be posting the winners’ names as soon as muggley possible today!

It’s been awesome to be hearing from so many HP fans - thanks for all your comments! I know the wait is hard… but keep your fingers crossed for a little while longer!

And if anyone knows the spell for making time pass more quickly, feel free to use it now!

It looks like the odds are turning in everyone’s favour: there were fewer entrants to yesterday’s contest than the previous days. Only 4536 people entered for a chance to see JK Rowling at the Wintergarden theatre on October 23, compared to the day with the most entries (a whopping 7306!). And out of that smaller number, here are the 10 names that floated to the top of the list:

Tyffany Patrier: Oakville, ON
Sarah Wall: Walkerton, ON
Carlee Hallarn: Bradford, ON
Twylla West: Regina, SK
Mitchell Sutton: Conception Bay South, NF
Alicia Giansante: Hamilton, ON
Sarah Farwell: Waterloo, ON
Lara Dietl: New Lowell, ON
Amy McGarvey: Oshawa, ON
Jay Hanuschak: Etobicoke, ON

Yay!!!

And, to remind the rest of you, there are still 6 contest days left. All of the entries from today (Friday the 21st) until Sunday the 23rd will be counted as one day and drawn on Monday. Enter here: http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

I hope the suspense won’t kill anyone over the weekend!

Ten more lucky people have been chosen to attend a reading with JK Rowling on October 23rd!
Out of 5261 entries these ten people managed to make it onto the list:

Trevor Jarvis: Toronto, ON
Madalaine Muscat: Toronto, ON
Alex Snider: Toronto, ON
Laurie Barron: Toronto, ON
Nikyla Talgoy: Russell, ON
Lauren Barbieri: Mississauga, ON
Jeff Davey: Toronto, ON
Graham Joiner: Aurora, ON
Tait Billings: Holland Landing, ON
Scott Bowles: Sudbury, ON

Have a great time at the event!

And to the rest: 7 more chances to win…
http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

Oh the suspense!!!

Sorry to make you all wait! Here is the list of winners for those who entered the JK Rowling contest on Tuesday September 18. Drum roll please!

Heather Burns: Toronto, ON
Aileen Sarmiento: Mississauga, ON
Lesley Kempson-Marsh: Toronto, ON
Jakob Tanner: Toronto, ON
Lisa Douris: Mississauga, ON
Christy Bain: Mississauga, ON
Genevieve Provost: Montreal, QC
Elaine Morton: Cambridge, ON
Jessie-May Rowntree: Newmarket, ON
Danielle DuBay: Toronto, ON

Congratulations!!! These lucky 10 have won two tickets to see JK Rowling at the Wintergarden Theatre on October 23, as well as complimentary copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

And for a note of encouragement to the rest of you out there, biting your nails, there are still 8 more chances to win! Enter at http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/. Good luck!

The JK Rowling Winter Garden Theatre contest launched yesterday and what a start it has been! Out of 3969 contest entries yesterday, September 17, ten have been randomly selected to win a pair of tickets to see JK Rowling on October 23rd.

Here are the winners:

Stephanie Bueler: Markham, ON
Lindsay Kortenaar: Waterdown, ON
Shannon Handy: Courtice, ON
Josi Smit: Ottawa, ON
Deniz Koc: Brampton, ON
Susan Vieira: Montreal, QC
Jesse Marshall: Etobicoke, ON
Susanna Ip: Unionville, ON
Graham Silnicki: Toronto, ON
Mukesh Joshi: Pickering, ON

Congratulations you ten!

And to everyone else: remember, you still have nine more chances to win. Enter to win at http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/.

Watch this space for tomorrow’s winners!

Yesterday we announced that we are running a contest on the Raincoast website to win tickets to the J.K. Rowling event in Toronto.

Now Canadian teachers and librarians have another chance to get tickets! In another contest (separate from the one on Raincoast.com), the Ontario Library Association (OLA) will be giving away tickets to Canadian schools and public libraries through two initiatives. Here’s more information from their press release:

OLA is making tickets available to OLA members and participants of the Forest of Reading from around Ontario. The focus of these ticket give-aways is on children and young adults. Schools and public libraries can request up to four tickets (one adult chaperone and three youth) per school or branch library. Application for these tickets can be made through www.accessola.com and follow the links. From the qualified applications winners will be chosen randomly by regions of the province.

In a separate initaitive OLA is working with the provincial and territorial library associations across Canada, know as The Partnership (www.thepartnership.ca) to ensure tickets are available throughout the country. Each participating library association is going to work to ensure two pairs of tickets per jurisdiction are distributed to a child and their chaperone to attend in Toronto on October 23. OLA’s Jefferson Gilbert says of the initiative, “the willingness to be involved from groups as far away as the Yukon has been overwhelming and certainly speaks to the appeal of JK Rowling”.

Get all the details and apply to get tickets on the OLA website.

And for everyone else, you can enter daily for a chance to win tickets the event on the Raincoast website.

Raincoast Books and the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) announced today that J.K. Rowling will be making one appearance in Canada this fall. J.K. Rowling will be appearing at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto on October 23 for an all-ages event sponsored by her Canadian co-publisher, Raincoast Books, and hosted by the International Festival of Authors.

J.K. Rowling will offer a short reading from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, answer questions from her fans and sign complimentary copies of the final book in the Harry Potter series for every fan in attendance. The event will begin at 10:00AM.

There will be no tickets for sale and numbered and assigned seats will only be available through random draws.

Beginning at 9:00AM Pacific on Monday September 17, Raincoast will be holding an online sweepstakes for lucky fans, ages seven and older, to enter to win one of one hundred pairs of tickets to the J.K. Rowling Comes to the Winter Garden Theatre event.

Raincoast will draw ten pairs of tickets per day for ten days, excluding weekends, from September 17 though September 28. For full details please go to: www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/.

The IFOA, working with The Ontario Library Association (OLA) and their sister organisation, The Partnership (The Provincial and Territorial Library Associations of Canada), will also be making hundreds of tickets available for fans across Canada. Seating at the event will be capped at 950 attendees.

“J.K. Rowling has always given priority to her fans”, said Allan MacDougall, CEO of Raincoast Books, “and we and the IFOA have tried to plan an event that reflects her values.  The Winter Garden event will be intimate, interactive and something that her Canadian fans will never forget. We are thrilled to have her in Canada again.”

Raincoast Books of Vancouver is the joint publisher of Harry Potter series in Canada in conjunction with Bloomsbury Plc of London. Since first being published in 1997, the seven books in Harry Potter series have sold over 350 million copies worldwide and over 11 million copies in Canada. The trip next month will mark the second occasion that J.K. Rowling has travelled to Canada. In October 2000, she made appearances in Vancouver and Toronto.

Enter now on http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/