New York, NY (June 6, 2003) -- Scholastic announced today in partnership with UK publisher Bloomsbury, that it will bring the magic of J.K. Rowling and her extraordinary new book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to millions of Americans via a MSN Live Webcast as the co-sponsor of the Royal Albert Hall Event in London, England on Thursday, June 26th. This world exclusive event is the first time ever that an author has been the focus of a webcast of this magnitude. The 10 winners, and their guardians, of Scholastic's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix essay contest will attend the event in London, England in-person.

Through the webcast, J.K. Rowling will treat millions of fans to an extraordinary afternoon beginning with a conversation between Rowling and actor/author Stephen Fry. Rowling will then read personally selected excerpts and answer questions from children about her new book.

MSN will broadcast the entire event live via the Internet at www.msn.co.uk/harrypotter at 11:00a.m.(EST) on June 26 in the U.S. The event will then be archived online for 7 days. Scholastic plans on working with its retail and library customers to promote and bring the web- cast to as large an audience as possible.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. on June 21st. Scholastic is printing an initial unprecedented 6.8 million copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix followed by an additional 1.7 copies for a total of 8.5 million, an all-time United States publishing record. The company recently unveiled its multi-million dollar retail marketing campaign, which includes billboards, event kits, major league baseball promotions and national advertising and publicity.

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, textbooks, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including: proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's www.scholastic.com Internet site.

Contacts:

Kris Moran
(212) 389-3789
kmoran@scholastic.com

Judy Corman
(212) 343-6833
jcorman@scholastic.com