Rowling’s plea to Potter fans not to touch stolen rare manuscript

JK Rowling has urged Harry Potter fans not to buy a handwritten prequel to the series after the manuscript was stolen by burglars.

In a message to her 10 million followers on Twitter, the author reposted a West Midlands Police appeal for information to trace the 800-word work, which raised £25,000 for charity when it was auctioned in 2008.

The prequel’s owner also lost irreplaceable items of jewellery with links to his late father when safes were stolen from his home in Kings Heath, Birmingham, between April 13 and 24.

Responding to news of the theft, Rowling retweeted a picture of the manuscript with the message: “PLEASE DON’T BUY THIS IF YOU’RE OFFERED IT. Originally auctioned for @englishpen, the owner supported writers’ freedoms by bidding for it.”

The “extremely valuable” prequel, penned on both sides of the A5 postcard, was sold at Sotheby’s to raise funds for English PEN, which promotes understanding through literature and Dyslexia Action.

JK Rowling is upset over the theft of the prequel manuscript sold for charity.