Rowling brought out the final book in the seven-tome Potter series 18 months ago, but publishers promise that "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" provides an insight into the characters and their wizardry.
The British author made a fortune from the tales of the boy wizard, but all the proceeds from "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" will go to the charity she co-founded to improve life for children in institutional homes in eastern Europe.
Publishers are widely expecting the initial print run of 7.5 million copies to be snapped up quickly when the book goes on sale in more than 20 countries including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, China and Japan.
"We think it will appeal to established Harry Potter fans, but also to people who want to do something for charity," said Amy MacLaren, a spokeswoman for the charity, Children's High Level Group (CHLG).
The charity said it would receive a total of 1.61 pounds (1.90 euro, 2.05 dollars) from each book sold in Britain, and an equivalent amount from foreign sales.
She produced seven original handwritten copies, giving away six to people involved with the Potter books and auctioning the seventh a year ago, which was bought for 1.95 million pounds (2.3 million euros, 2.9 million dollars) by online retailer Amazon.
Amazon has placed reviews of the five short stories on its website, promising that they "read like Aesop's fables and echo the themes of the (Potter) series".
Each story is followed by commentary by Albus Dumbledore, the white-bearded headmaster of the Hogwarts school where Potter and his friends learn their spells. --Agence France-Presse via MSN
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