Harry Potter fever is gripping book stores across the world in the countdown to next month’s launch of the sixth volume in the boy wizard series, which looks set to become the biggest-selling novel ever.
Multimillionaire author Joanne ”JK” Rowling is due to unveil Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at a special ceremony in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, at midnight (11pm GMT) on the morning of July 16.
In preparation, millions of copies of Potter’s latest adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry are rolling off the printers ready to hit bookstands from London to New York, Tokyo to New Delhi.
”It is just going to be fantastic,” said Lucy Holden, head of children’s publicity at British firm Bloomsbury, the original publisher of the collection, noting that at least 1 000 book stores in Britain alone were expected to open their doors at midnight to sell the first copies to fans.
Bloomsbury will also release the spell-binding edition in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, while United States publisher Scholastic will serve up the book to a hungry audience in the United States.
English-language versions will also be available on the day in other countries, with translated manuscripts due out a few months later, said Holden, adding that Harry Potter and his battle against the evil powers of Voldemort was particularly popular in India, China and Japan.
Book shops and online retailers are preparing for record-breaking sales from the instalment and a price war has erupted in Britain as they compete to pull in as many Potter addicts — both young and old — as possible. Most are also promising free gifts and special entertainment on the big day.
”We are expecting it to be the biggest book ever,” said a spokesperson for Waterstones, Britain’s main independent book chain, which has already taken a huge number of pre-orders for the sixth chapter in Harry Potter’s life.
”It is the biggest event this year. Looking at other big literary launches there is not anything that comes close to it,” she said, requesting anonymity.
At midnight, Waterstones plans to open two-thirds of its outlets — 140 stores — across Britain and throw a string of Harry Potter parties, with many fans expected to turn up dressed as their favourite characters from the series such as the bespeckled star himself or his two best friends, the red-haired Ron Weasley and
brainy Hermione Granger.
WH Smith, Britain’s biggest book seller, is counting on a magical boost from the Harry Potter craze as well, and will open 390 stores at witching hour, said a company spokesperson.
”It’s huge. This is probably the biggest book of the year,” she said, adding that the company had also received a high number of pre-orders for the book, while declining to disclose an actual figure.
Similar spells have been cast over supermarket giant Asda and family entertainment retailer Woolworths, which both slashed the average £9,99-pound (€15, $18) price of the book to £8,9 and £8,99 respectively.
Dan Brown’s conspiracy thriller The Da Vinci Code was Asda’s best-selling novel last year and company spokesperson Nick Agarwal predicted Harry Potter would beat that figure three-fold on the opening day alone.
The talented young wizard’s adventures ”are the biggest game in town as far as books are concerned,” said Agarwal.
”This year, in terms of book sales, is all about Harry Potter there is nothing
else that touches it.”
The series — which has already spawned three blockbuster movies, with a fourth due out in November — has also enchanted sales at online retailers such as market leader, Amazon.co.uk, which guarantees all pre-ordered copies will be delivered on July 16.
Amazon spokesperson Damian Peachey said the firm had received more than 200 000 orders in Britain, while US parent, Amazon.com, had bypassed the half-million mark, and he predicted that volume would grow as the launch date approached.
”It is all to play for in the next three weeks,” Peachey said. – Sapa-AFP