newsmakers

newsmakers

Harry Potter e-book sales postponed till ’12

LONDON

Harry Potter fans will have to wait a bit longer to buy the magic tales in electronic form.

The creators of the online Potter portal said Friday that the launch of an e-book store has been pushed back to next year.

The seven Harry Potter books had been due to go on sale in October exclusively through the “Pottermore” website.

The site is a combination of virtual encyclopedia, role-playing game and online community for fans of author J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard.

It launched in July and so far is accessible to 1 million registered users chosen through an online competition.

In a blog posting on the site, “Pottermore” management said registration would be open to everyone from the end of October, and the online store would open in “the first half of 2012.”

The creators of “Pottermore” say the books will be compatible with popular e-readers, including Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and Apple’s iPad.

Dr. Kevorkian’s art, belongings to be sold

DETROIT

Paintings, writings and the iconic blue sweater of assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian are going up for auction, his attorney and close friend said Friday.

Lawyer Mayer Morganroth said the late pathologist’s artwork and items will be sold in late October at the New York Institute of Technology. Scheduled for auction are more than 20 paintings, Kevorkian’s art kit and the sweaters he became known for donning during his high-profile assistance in the suicides of dozens of people in the 1990s.

Many of the paintings depict death or dying and often are intended to provoke or disturb. One of those up for auction is titled “Genocide” and features a bloody head being dangled by the hair and held by the hands of two soldiers. One wears a German military uniform from World War II and the other a Turkish uniform from World War I.

Morganroth said Kevorkian wanted to depict the mass killings of Armenians and Jews during World War I and World War II, respectively. The doctor was of Armenian descent.

Morganroth said he doesn’t know the value of the collection, but most of the proceeds will go to Kevorkian’s sole heir — a niece — and the charity Kicking Cancer for Kids.

Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999, and was released from prison in 2007. He died in June at age 83.

Shania Twain testifies in stalking trial

TORONTO

Canadian country star Shania Twain testified Friday that she has compassion for a man accused of stalking her but remains concerned that he will continue to pursue her.

Giovanni Palumbo has been charged with three counts of failure to comply with a court order and criminal harassment. He pleaded guilty Friday to the charges after pleading not guilty earlier this week.

The former Ottawa doctor purportedly sent Twain a series of letters, made unwanted visits to her family cottage in Ontario and even attended her grandmother’s funeral before being arrested at a Canadian awards ceremony this year.

Defense lawyer Gary Barnes said Friday during Twain’s cross-examination that Palumbo simply didn’t realize that Twain wasn’t interested.

But Twain, appearing via video link from an undisclosed location in Europe, didn’t see it that way.

“I’m torn emotionally because I have compassion for anybody who’s reaching out in need — fans often do that,” she said. “I feel very sad ... and awkward having to go through these very personal matters with Mr. Palumbo because it’s such an invasion of his privacy.”

However, Twain said nothing she heard at the trial made her feel differently about Palumbo.

“I still have the fear and anxiety of being contacted in the future by Mr. Palumbo. And I do want it to stop,” she said.

Associated Press