Monday, July 23, 2007


SCHOLASTIC AND HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
MAKE PUBLISHING HISTORY WITH 8.3 MILLION COPIES SOLD
IN FIRST 24 HOURS

New York, NY July 22, 2007 -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final Harry Potter book, published in the U.S. by Scholastic, hit bookstores nationwide at 12:01 a.m. on July 21, 2007 and once again Harry Potter made history. Early reports estimate that Scholastic broke all publishing records, selling an unprecedented 8.3 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in its first 24 hours on sale.

The excitement, anticipation, and just plain hysteria that came over the entire country this weekend was a bit like the Beatles’ first visit to the U.S.”, stated Lisa Holton, Chief Muggle, Scholastic (aka President, Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs).

“This weekend kids and adults alike are sitting on buses, in the park, on airplanes and in restaurants reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The conversations the readers have been waiting to have for 10 years have just begun.” Holton continued, “The glowing reviews have been calling this book a classic for all time.

Congratulations to J.K. Rowling on her tremendous literary achievement.”

Scholastic announced a record breaking first printing of 12 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and retailers reported fast-paced pre-sales leading up to the release date.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book, was released on July 16, 2005, with a first printing of 10.8 million copies. At the time, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the fastest-selling book in history, selling 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours. All six Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have been number one bestsellers in the United States, the U.K., and around the world. The American editions of the Harry Potter books are published under Scholastic’s Arthur A. Levine imprint.

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. http://www.scholastic.com/.


This morning the New Zealand Herald carried a story about a Scholastic shareholder, Mark Boyar, unhappy about the company's performance. Richard Robinson, President of Scholastic told me this morning that he regarded Boyar's comments as ridiculous and that he had refuted them on TV in New York on Friday evening. He went on to say, "However no one cares about this, Harry Potter has drowned out Mark Boyars, this is all about the greatness of Harry".

I agree with Robinson, certainly Harry Potter is the greatest phenomenon seen in my 40 years in the book trade, it is simply magical to see kids, and adults too, so excited about books.

I join with Scholastic in offering warmest congratulations to J.K.Rowling on her enormous achievement.


Pic shows Richard Robinson, second from left, with Arthur Levine, far right, US editor of the Harry Potter series, with winners of a Harry Potter competition. Photo taken at Harry Potter Place in NY's Soho district.

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