Guide Note

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is writing a prequel to the wildly popular series about the boy wizard.

Reports say the 800-word piece, autographed by Rowling, will be auctioned in London on June 10, 2008 for the charity English PEN and Dyslexia Action.

Rowling has said she has no plans to write another Potter book. The sign off for the upcoming storycard reads: "From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!"

Fast Facts

1. 800 word "storycard" is 5.75 by 8.25 inches
2. Will be sold at the "What's Your Story?" charity auction
3. Hand-written and autographed
4. Auction through Sotheby's
5. Expected to raise millions

British bookseller Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd. says the Potter prequel is one of several storycards up for bidding at the auction. Rowling wrote her piece on an A5 paper roughly the size of a postcard.

Other authors participating in the "What's Your Story" auction include Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, Sebastian Faulks and Margaret Atwood.