Bid on newly hand-annotated first editions of books by J.K. Rowling, Yann Martel, and Nick Hornby

Even when a book gets published, becomes a bestseller, wins a glut of awards and launches successful film adaptations, it doesn’t mean that an author wouldn’t change a few things when given the chance, or offer up some commentary on their choices. That’s the thinking behind “First Editions, Second Thoughts,” an auction to benefit writers’ association English PEN, which offers the chance to bid on 50 first editions annotated by their authors. Tom Stoppard reveals an alternate title for Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Nick Hornby adds details about the Hillsborough stadium disaster to Fever Pitch, and Yann Martel still isn’t happy with the first line of Life Of Pi, but the big-ticket item is bound to be a J.K. Rowling-annotated copy of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. Rowling reveals she originally planned to use a bear as Hufflepuff’s house mascot, and that she invented Quidditch “in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with [her] then-boyfriend.” Check out previews of all the books, including work by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Seamus Heaney, Lionel Shriver, and other, over at The Guardian.