VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE HARRY POTTER SPELL   ‘As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position,’ Lockhart told the silent crowd. ‘On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.’ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets   As part of the celebrations for Harry Potter Book Night: A Night of Spells, Bloomsbury Children’s Books is launching the first official global search to find the world’s favourite spell from the Harry Potter books.   The hundreds of amazing spells created by J.K. Rowling within the pages of the Harry Potter books are legendary. Full of inventiveness and cunning, these famous magical incantations protect and challenge Harry and his friends in all sorts of ways.   Bloomsbury has created a list of key spells from the books which can be found at https://bit.ly/HarryPotterSpellVote where visitors can vote. The poll opens on Thursday 21st January and closes on Tuesday 2nd February. The results will be announced on Harry Potter Book Night, Thursday 4th February.   Will the favourite be a sly spell, a mysterious charm or a unforgiveable curse like Avada Kedavra? It’s over to the Harry Potter fans across the world to cast their vote. Vote for your favourite spell at https://bit.ly/HarryPotterSpellVote   Excitement builds towards global celebrations on 5 February…     Excitement is building to the first ever Harry Potter Book Night on 5 February. This exciting event created by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc invites new and existing fans to share the wonder of J.K. Rowling’s unforgettable stories and, most excitingly, to introduce the next generation of readers to the unparalleled magic of Harry Potter.   Schools, bookshops, libraries and community groups throughout the UK & Ireland - and indeed the world - are currently refining their plans to make 5 February a night to remember! Twitter is buzzing with the#HarryPotterBookNight hashtag as hosts share news of their events. Over 8,500 Harry Potter Book Night event kits have been downloaded by event hosts in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Norway, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, and the Ukraine. In the UK and Ireland, ALL 1,000 Chatterbooks groups are holding Harry Potter Book Night events, as are 240 Brownie groups and 80 Girl Guide groups. Event kits will be available online for FREE download right up until the night itself so there’s still time to decide to host an event involving games, quizzes, activities and dressing up.   Waterstone’s Piccadilly – Europe’s largest bookshop – will play host to a very special WE LOVE HARRY POTTER! Event from 6:30 pm on 5 February with guests including NEW Harry Potter illustrator Jonny Duddle, STAR author Laura Dockrill plus members of the POTTERMORE team and fan community MUGGLENET. Guests are invited to dress as wizard, witch or muggle. Tickets are limited and selling fast at waterstones.com. Earlier in the day, Jonny Duddle will be unveiling the secrets behind his amazing new illustrations to an invited schools audience at The Story Museum in Oxford.   Bloomsbury has launched a major competition for schools in the UK and Ireland to win an illustration workshop with Jonny Duddle plus a piece of exclusive money-can’t-buy Harry Potter wall art. For more information on this, plus other exciting Harry Potter Book Night treats, head to harrypotterbooknight.com, Facebook.com/HarryPotterBooksfromBloomsbury OR @KidsBloomsbury on Twitter.   Emma Hopkin, Children’s M.D. of Bloomsbury Children’s Books says, “We are well aware of the enduring love for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels so our aim for Harry Potter Book Night has always been to attract new readers to the books – and the overwhelming response from teachers, schools, libraries, Brownie and Girl Guide groups and bookshops will achieve just that so we couldn’t be more pleased.”