Rowling plans online reading of new ''Potter''

Once the long-awaited ”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is published on June 21, author J.K. Rowling plans to do her worldwide book tour all in one sitting. According to wire service reports, she plans to appear on a live Web simulcast at the end of the month, where she’ll read from the book and then answer fans’ questions.

Rowling will read before a live audience of 4,000 kids at London’s Royal Albert Hall, then answer questions relayed by comic actor and fellow novelist Stephen Fry. Fans can submit questions in advance or during the event at msn.co.uk/harrypotter. Sending a question also automatically enters you to win a bookplate signed by Rowling. The reading takes place on June 26 at noon EDT at the same Web address, just five days after the book’s worldwide publication date. (It will also be archived for streaming at the website for a week after the taping.) Of course, five days may not be enough time for fans to finish reading the book, which, at 255,000 words, is 33 percent longer than 2000’s epic-length ”Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”