I had the privilege of being a guest on today’s Potterversity episode: “Pondering Pumpkin Pasties: Food in the Wizarding World.”  We talk about the foods of Harry Potter from a variety of perspectives: from psychological to social to spiritual to ecological   Please check it out. Bring napkins.

No Kid Hungry and the Floo Network are coming together to fight childhood hunger in the United States. Hosted by ImpulseSV, No Hunger in the Great Hall is an unofficial movie marathon Minecraft event – a 24-hour stream that re-creates memorable film moments in a live Minecraft world. This year’s event features cameos from talent like Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), a guest star appearance from Ekow Quartey (Bem), trivia provided by MuggleNet, all-new Minecraft builds and models, and much more.

The best part? For every $1 raised, 10 meals will be delivered to children in need.

To learn more, visit NoHungerintheGreatHall.com and tune in to ImpulseSV on Twitch on November 25 at noon EST.

Our friends at The Rowling Library have just published issue #71 of their magazine, and, as always, it is worth the time to download and read it (or just click the link above). From the interview with Neil Packer, a Harry Potter illustrator, to the editor’s review of ‘The Forbidden Forest Experience’ (contrast TRL’s notes with Louise Freeman’s that were posted here just yesterday, A Forbidden Forest Experience: A Bit of Hogwarts Comes to Virginia), The Rowling Library Magazine is a serious reader delight.

I especially recommend this issue’s cover story by ‘Ibid,’ ‘After Seven: In Rowling’s Words.’ What the author has done is to collect all of Rowling’s comments that she made in interviews, tweets, and press conferences post Deathly Hallows about what happened to the beloved characters of her septology and then to re-write this collection as a single article written by the author. It acts like something of an extended epilogue to the Hogwarts Saga’s finale and is very, very well done.

It’s so well done, in fact, that I hope ‘Ibid’ or another TRL writer will collect and write-up using the author’s own words Rowling’s post Hallows comments about the Christian content of the series (e.g., the MTV ‘interview’), her thoughts about the “indestructible soul” and her “intensely spiritual life” (Volkskrant), and the “magic in literature,” “spiritual flux,” “permanent soul,” and reflections on the King’s Cross scene (El Pais, Cruz). These and her various talks on the ‘Open Book Tour,’ the German interview including her Nabokov discussion still not found, and her Today show appearances happened in the year after Deathly Hallows’ publication and represent her great opening up about her core beliefs. It would be a great service if a diligent researcher could collect them all and present them as professionally as ‘Ibid’ did her extended epilogue.

Just saying! Until that wish-upon-a-star collation appears, enjoy the November issue of the TRL magazine — and think seriously about subscribing to their efforts to support the excellent work they do. You’ll get Patricio Tarantino’s brilliant Daily Prophet emails in your inbox if you do!