CNN.com - Authors to Rowling: Don't kill Harry Potter - Aug 1, 2006

Stephen King is on the lookout in this pic for runaway vans looking to smite them asunder.

"NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Two of America's top authors, John Irving and Stephen King, made a plea to J.K. Rowling on Tuesday not to kill the fictional boy wizard Harry Potter in the final book of the series, but Rowling made no promises.

'My fingers are crossed for Harry,' Irving said at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

The author of 'The World According to Garp' and a string of other bestsellers said he and King felt like 'warm-up bands' for Rowling, who is working on the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series, and who has said two characters will die.

King, who shot to fame in 1974 with 'Carrie,' said he had confidence that Rowling would be 'fair' to her hero." (more) CNN.com - Authors to Rowling: Don't kill Harry Potter - Aug 1, 2006