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July 6, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Categories: Books and reading, NEW!
Me and JK
The book that sparked a friendship so FULL of potential! Sometime in 1999, probably around March and not even two years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published in the UK, Jo (we were on a first-name basis) was pretty happy. Although she was still relatively unknown in Australia, her book about a boy wizard had won a number of awards in the UK and been published in the US. She was well on her way to completing book number three. Half a world away, I was living in Brisbane and working for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, running
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June 24, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Books and reading
New HP books out on Thursday!
Way back in May we learned that JK Rowling would soon release four new books. The internet went a little crazy as some of us anticipated long queues outside the bookstore, maybe even camping overnight, to get our hands on a brand new HP book and devour every word in the first 24 hours. Well, the new books may not stand up to the hype of the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (20 years ago on 8th July) and they may be e-books instead of real, cozy-smelling paper versions, but the new release is still exciting
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June 13, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Books and reading
Exclusive patronus artworks auction for POA 20th anniversary
‘The Patronus turned. It was cantering back towards Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn’t a horse. It wasn’t a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon above … it was coming back to him …’Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. Monday 8th July 2019 marks 20 years since the first publication of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – the spellbinding third book in the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series. The book introduced readers to the notion of casting their Patronus – a protective spell that
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April 1, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Books and reading
First edition Philosopher’s Stone sells for $128,000
Mistakes pay! A rare copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone fetched a record price of AU$128,000 at a recent London auction, thanks largely to some Muggle-made mistakes. The unique copy is just one of 500 first editions printed with a number of errors, including the word “Philosopher’s” on the back cover without the second “o”. It is thought that 300 of the original first editions were sent to libraries, making pristine copies extremely rare. A similar first edition copy previously sold at auction in the US for AU$110,000. Do you have one of these rare first editions? Here’s what
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March 5, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Gaming
Wizards Unite: what do we know?
Some more tantalising tidbits about the impending Wizards Unite mobile game have been released in an interview with Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara.Rumours of a mobile Harry Potter game had been circulating for a while when the game’s official Facebook page launched in November 2017 with scant information. And then all went quiet until the first trailer was released a year later. What did it tell us apart from a vague release date of 2019? Well, it seems players will be ‘enlisted’ to help the Ministry of Magic protect the Statute of Secrecy and keep the wizarding world from being exposed
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February 5, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Books and reading
Book or Bonanza? Is your Philosopher’s Stone worth a fortune?
Dust off those well-thumbed, early editions: they could be worth a whole lot of galleons!On a recent episode of The Antiques Roadshow – yet to be aired in Australia – two Harry Potter Books were valued at around £3000 (over $5000) and only one of them was a first edition.In the early days after we opened Quizzic Alley, we hadn’t yet received our first order of books so I gathered up all my old Harry Potter books and put them on display at the shop. “At least visitors will be able to see a book,” I explained to Nearly Legless
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January 30, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Categories: Schools and teaching, Style
10 ideas to make your classroom truly magical
There’s nothing more magical than a Harry Potter inspired classroom. At Quizzic Alley, we know all about decorating a room! Here’s our top ten tips for creating a spell-binding classroom.NUMBER 1 – THEMED ENTRYA themed entry is perfect for setting the scene. Grab a sponge and some paint and a large piece of paper or calico. Use the sponge to create a brick effect for a convincing Platform 9¾ experience. Check out this one from Paper Trail Design.Give the door a stone-effect archway through which wizards can make a grand entrance. Try Hover Dad Incorporated.There are some awesome full-door stickers
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January 7, 2019
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Films and theatre
Cursed Child for $40 – Siriusly!
You can now get tickets to see The Cursed Child for a very mweasley $40.This will come as welcome news to those who overspent on Yule pressies. Thanks to The Friday Forty, you could save up to $250 per person to see the two parts. That’s Ravenclawesome!But there is a catch. Isn’t there always? It’s not just a simple matter of ringing up and booking at this amazing discounted rate. Nope, this is a lottery where a limited number of winners are drawn at random. And, as there are only 40 tickets raffled off per performance, it may be time
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December 20, 2018
- Posted by: Professor Penelope Presto
- Category: Shop news
Give a little magic!
Flummoxed when it comes to the perfect Christmas present? Need some new ideas? Quizzic Alley has the answer.Just delivered – these awesome, magical gift vouchers, just perfect for the wizard in your life.Choose any value for the voucher and just pop it in the Christmas card. Accio present! Ssoo good, sssooo easy!
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