Live PotterCast at Phoenix Rising

[Kayla Castille]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Kayla Castille, press at ...

The Leaky Cauldron to Present Live PotterCast at Phoenix Rising in New
Orleans
PotterCast to be part of opening night event at conference on all things
Harry Potter

NEW YORK, October 1, 2006 -- The Leaky Cauldron and Phoenix Rising are
pleased to announce that a special PotterCast will be recorded in New
Orleans as part of Phoenix Rising, a Harry Potter conference.

"We're very excited to head down to New Orleans and bring PotterCast live
to more than a thousand fans at Phoenix Rising," said PotterCast host
Melissa Anelli, who will also be part of the panel Transformation: From
Fan to Fandom with MIT scholar Henry Jenkins.  "When Phoenix Rising asked
us to produce a podcast on its opening night, we jumped at the
opportunity." The podcast will be open to all attendees with registration,
which is currently $160 and includes five days of programming, the
Overture Dinner and Coda Breakfast, admission to all programming and
events of Phoenix Rising, a ticket for a New Orleans-style Masquerade
Ball, a conference t-shirt, and the opportunity to purchase keynote
presentation and special event tickets.

On Thursday, May 17, 2007, Phoenix Rising's Overture Dinner event will
begin with a southern take on a Hogwarts feast. Following dinner,
PotterCast will record in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton New Orleans. 
The evening will also feature a Grand Gallery Opening that showcases
fanart submitted to the conference and the opening of Phoenix Rising's
vendor room. The conference will continue through May 21, 2007, with
programming submitted by scholars, professionals, and fans, as well as
keynote presentations on how the arts and fans transform the Harry Potter
series and special events that take advantage of locations in New Orleans'
French Quarter.

Conference organizer Hallie Tibbetts noted that "PotterCast has set a
standard in the Harry Potter community for celebrity interviews,
insightful analysis and fun elements, which dovetails very well with our
broad-ranging programming.  It also invites listeners to interact and be
part of the show, and since we encourage collaborative programming,
[PotterCast] is an excellent fit for our Overture event."

More information about the Overture can be found at
http://www.thephoenixrises.org/events/events.html.

Phoenix Rising (http://www.thephoenixrises.org) is a five-day conference
on all things Harry Potter in New Orleans from May 17-21, 2007. Guests of
Honor include Dr. Anne Hiebert Alton, Danny Bilson, Jon Burlingame, Vicky
Dann, Tim Ditlow, Henry Jenkins, among others. The conference is presented
by Narrate Conferences, Inc. (http://www.narrateconferences.com), a
non-profit organization that produces dynamic, innovative events for
scholars, students, professionals and fans.

PotterCast (http://www.pottercast.com) is the weekly Harry Potter podcast
of Webby Award-winning Potter site The Leaky Cauldron
(http://www.leakynews.com), and presents newsworthy information about and
in-depth discussion of Harry Potter in a humorous, intelligent and
informative program. Hosted by Melissa Anelli, John Noe and Sue Upton, it
is the only Harry Potter podcast to offer celebrity interviews, many of
whom have offered never-before-heard info about the upcoming films and
previously published books. Past guests have included Arthur Levine,
American editor of the Harry Potter books; Matt Lewis, the actor who plays
Neville Longbottom; acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan, and many more.
Each week fans can also listen to in-depth Potter theory discussions with
the hosts of the show and Steve Vander Ark of the Harry Potter Lexicon;
they can also enjoy fan DVD commentary, contests, filk (song parody)
competitions, fan interviews, themed shows, and plenty of other
interactive comment aimed to keep fans interested and involved.
Transcripts, polls, blogs, contests and other information are available on
the show's Web site. PotterCast debuted in August, 2005, and reached #1 on
the iTunes Podcast Directory within 48 hours of its release and has been a
regular feature in its Top 100 ever since. It has since been profiled by
the New York Post and has been awarded a 2006 Podcast Award for Best
Entertainment.

The Leaky Cauldron (http://www.leakynews.com) is a Webby Award-winning
Harry Potter site that features the oldest and most accurate news archive
on the subject on the Web. In addition to news and its podcast,
PotterCast, it features interviews with celebrities within the Harry
Potter franchise (including author J.K. Rowling and her editors), the
largest Harry Potter image and video galleries online, the largest
collection of Potter merchandise available, polls, DVD commentaries,
forums, widgets, crafts, contests, specialized feeds and subscriptions,
and much, much more. J.K. Rowling has publicly called it her "favorite fan
site," and awarded it a Fan Site Award in May, 2005. The site was also
awarded Yahoo!'s 2005 Find of the Year, a 2004 Lovemark and a 2002
Bloggie.

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Kayla Castille
Public Affairs Coordinator
Phoenix Rising - A Harry Potter conference
www.thephoenixrises.org