J.K. Rowling's  spokeswoman has said, "There is no deadline and there never was. She doesn't have writer's block and she is busy writing the book at the moment."

And UK publishers Bloomsbury said JK Rowling was "happily writing" Order of the Phoenix. "As soon as we have the completed manuscript we will announce a publication date," said a spokeswoman.

All original JKR quotes, with sources at the end:

• "In book 5, we go into a whole new area, physically, an area you've never seen before, a magical world" (1)
• "What's very important for me is when Dumbledore says that you have to choose between what is right and what is easy. This is the setup for the next three books. All of them are going to have to choose, because what is easy is often not right." (1)
• "You'll be seeing Mrs. [Arabella] Figg in book five, and you'll find out all about her." (2)
• "Harry will see him [the real 'Mad-Eye' Moody] in book five." (2)
• Why do some wizards/witches become ghosts and others don't? "You will find out much more about that in book five." (3)
• "There will be a female Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher." (3)
• "You see Lupin in Book Five. Yes, you see a lot of old characters in Book Five." (4)
• "Book five will be scary. Harry finds out a lot of things he hasn't stumbled across so far."(4)
• "The Dursleys are in the next book, and there's stuff coming with them that people might not expect." (5)
• "Ginny Weasley will play more of a role in Book Five." (5)
• "In book five [Harry] has to examine exactly what death means, in even closer ways." (6)

(1) Entertainment Weekly Interview, September 2000
(2) Barnesandnoble.com Chat, October 2000
(3) America Online Chat, October 2000
(4) BBC Interview, Fall 2000
(5) Philadelphia Inquirer Story, November 2000
(6) RadioCBC 'This Morning' Interview, October 2000

These are the rumors floating around the internet about book 5.

• We learn the reason behind the deaths of Lily and James
• J.K. Rowling said that one of the characters, "one of Harry's fans", will die.
• Ron had a cousin who was supposed to be introduced in book four, but was cut out before its printing. This cousin might show up in the later books.
• Harry will be 15 years old.
• Harry, Ron and Hermione are due to take their O.W.L.s!
• JK Rowling says we'll learn if Percy sides with his family... or Fudge!