Stoppard to Adapt Pullman; Potter #5 Waits on Rowling

Stories of where next for J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman continue to dominate the news. Hopes of a new Harry Potter title for the summer of 2002 have long faded and even the autumn looks unlikely. Bloomsbury is adamant that no date for the fifth title had ever been fixed and that, as with Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, it will be delivered when Rowling is ready. With the four previous titles still high on bestseller lists and the newly released DVD of the film causing a stir of its own, Pottermania continues to hold up.

Since winning the Whitbread Prize, Pullman remains the author with the most crossover appeal. The latest news is that playwright Tom Stoppard, whose screenplays include Shakespeare in Love, will adapt His Dark Materials for New Line Cinema, which is planning at least two films from the trilogy.