Harry Potter fairy tales to be sold for charity

A collection of wizarding fairy tales that feature in the final Harry Potterbook are to be sold in support of a children’s charity.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which have been written and illustrated by JK Rowling, will go on sale on December 4th.

All proceeds from the books, which are to be printed and distributed by Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon, will be donated to the Children’s High Level Group, a charity set up by Rowling and MEP Emma Nicolson to help children suffering in institutions.

The author created seven copies of the book last year, six of which were given to friends and one was sold to Amazon at a charity auction for £1.95 million.

Rowling said there had been "understandable disappointment" among fans when only one copy of the book was offered to the public last December.

"I am therefore delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Amazon … and with the blessing of the wonderful people who own the other six original books The Tales of Beedle the Bard will now be widely available to all Harry Potter fans," she added.

A film adaptation of the sixth book from the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due to be released in the UK on November 21st.