Rowling publishes new book with seven copies only

London, Nov 1 (UNI) Only seven copies of a new book written by JK Rowling, the bestselling author of the famous Harry Potter series, have been made.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of five fairy tales, is handwritten and illustrated by Rowling herself, and each copy is leather-bound and covered in crafted silver and jewels.

Out of the seven copies, six have gone to people who are ''most closely connected to the Harry Potter books''.

The seventh will be auctioned in Sotheby's in December and the proceeds would go to the Children's Voice Foundation, a charity to help institutionalised children in eastern Europe.

One of the fairy tales in the book appears in the final novel of the Potter series--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-- but the rest four stories are new.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard was given to Harry's close friend Hermione Granger by the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, and provided clues to help Harry and his friends defeat the evil Lord Voldemort in the final novel of the series.

The Telegraph quoted Rowling as saying,''It's not about Harry, Ron and Hermione, but it comes from that world. So it's been therapeutic in a way. A nice way to say goodbye.'' She also confirmed that she was working on a new project.

UNI