The fate of fictional boy wizard Harry Potter will finally be
revealed on July 21, the publication day for the seventh and last
installment of J.K. Rowling's hugely successful book series.
In what promises to be one of the biggest publishing events in
recent years, book stores and online retailers are bracing for
another outbreak of Pottermania as fans across the world snap up
copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Adding to Harry hype this summer will be the release just over a
week earlier of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,
the fifth Hollywood blockbuster based on the books.
Wayne Winstone, children's manager at British bookseller
Waterstone's, predicted the book would become the fastest selling
of all time, a record currently held by the sixth installment,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
"For the bookselling industry, this is the most exciting day so
far this year," said Winstone. "Harry Potter has built
book by book into a global phenomenon," he told Reuters.
On the release of the sixth book in July 2005, thousands of
young Potter fans queued for hours outside stores in Australia,
India, Britain and the United States and reviews hit the Internet
within hours of the first copies being bought.
Bloomsbury Publishing, which handles the Potter books in
Britain, said on Thursday that the series had sold 325 million
copies worldwide.
"It may be a long time before we see another book that commands
as much anticipation, attention and demand as this final book,"
said Christopher North, head of books at the British arm of online
retailer Amazon.
Plot speculation, price wars
Speculation has been rife that Rowling, who became the world's
first billion-dollar author on the back of the success of the Harry
Potter books and spin-off movies, may kill Harry off at the end of
book seven.
She said last year that at least two characters would die in the
final book, and that she understood authors' desire to kill off the
main character of a successful series.
Two top US writers, John Irving and Stephen King, were
sufficiently concerned about the fictional hero's fate to urge
Rowling to spare him.
Retailers fired the opening salvoes in what is likely to be an
aggressive price war to ensure customers come to them to buy their
Harry Potters.
Waterstone's will be offering the book, with a recommended
retail price of 17.99 pounds ($35.40), for 8.99, while Amazon.co.uk
lowered its price to 8.99 pounds from 9.99 earlier on Thursday and
13.99 pounds prior to Bloomsbury's announcement.
Experts say that prices may come down further still.
Independent book stores have complained that they cannot compete
with reductions offered by the big chains, and so miss out on the
financial benefits of the Potter craze.
Bloomsbury, which announced the publication date on Thursday,
said it remained cautious about its outlook in light of challenging
market conditions, but the announcement supported its previously
stated view of a satisfactory outcome for 2007.
Its shares were trading at 224 pence at 1544 GMT on Thursday, up
nearly two percent from Wednesday's close. Broader shares were also
higher, with the FTSE 100 around 1.5 percent higher by the same
time.
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(Agencies via CRI February 2, 2007)
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