A book note

A book note
The best-sellers list from Publishers Weekly for the week ending Dec. 22 was not available.
KSU, CSU forming publishing partnership
The Center for Sacred Landmarks at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and Kent State University Press are joining forces to co-publish a series of books on sacred landmarks.
"The Sacred Landmarks" series will include works of both scholarship and general interest that preserve the history and increase understanding of religious sites, structures and organizations in Northeast Ohio, the United States and globally. The first book will be published in 2008.
Dr. Michael J. Tevesz , a professor in the department of urban studies and a special assistant for the cultural partnerships in the department of business affairs at CSU, will serve as editor, acquiring new manuscripts and acting as developmental editor in concert with other scholars. Tevesz, also a research associate of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is the founding director of the Sacred Landmarks Partnership of Northeast Ohio and the Center for Sacred Landmarks, a research and public service center that provides information about the past and present religious structures and organizations in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. To learn more about the Center, visit its Web site: http://urban.csuohio.edu/sacredlandmarks.
Kent State University Press is the publishing arm of KSU. A department within the division of research and graduate studies, the University Press publishes books -- both scholarly and of general interest -- in the areas of history, literature and other topics, all of which have particular interest to Northeast Ohio.
Rowling unveils title of final 'Potter' book
LOS ANGELES -- J.K. Rowling has given "Harry Potter" fans an early Christmas present: the title to her seventh and final book in the series.
The title, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was revealed on the author's Web site ( jkrowling.com) recently. Dedicated fans have to maneuver through the site to have the name appear.
On Thursday, the author had written in her online diary about her progress: "I'm now writing scenes that have been planned in some cases, for a dozen years or even more," she reports. "I don't think anyone who has not been in a similar situation can possibly know how this feels: I am alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book (don't worry, I will)."
She also mentions that although she hadn't before, she now has dreamed of being in the fantasy world she created.
"Deathly Hollows" is the highly anticipated conclusion to the best-selling fantasy series revolving around the titular boy wizard and his battles with the not entirely dead Lord Voldemort and his dark minions. Although there's been no hint about the plot, Rowling did reveal that two characters are slated to die.
The publication date also remains a mystery. But the titles of the two previous books have been announced in December with books hitting store shelves with a multi-million-dollar thud the next summer. Speculation has been rampant on Harry Potter Web sites for months that the seventh book would be published on 7/7/07.
The fifth installment, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," is making its way to the big screen in July. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprising their roles as Harry and his pals.
Copy of Christmas poem 'twas sold for 280K
NEW YORK -- A businessman paid 280,000 for an original 1860 handwritten copy of the classic poem that begins "'Twas the night before Christmas" an auction gallery said Tuesday. The buyer, identified only as the chief executive officer of a media company, received the copy this month, just in time to read it to relatives and business associates at a holiday party in his Manhattan apartment, Heritage Auction Galleries president Greg Rohan said.
Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1822. He wrote and signed the 1860 copy for an acquaintance. Three other copies in his writing are known to exist, but those are in museum collections, Rohan said.
The CEO's copy had been in the hands of a private collector and was not auctioned; the Dallas-based gallery brokered the deal.
Partygoers who listened to the new owner's poetic recitation "couldn't believe it," said Rohan, who personally delivered the poem in a protective plastic sleeve. "They thought it was the coolest thing that was."
Rohan said the poem's new owner planned to "keep it forever" and maybe exhibit it publicly for Christmas 2007.
Combined dispatches