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| Harry isn't Harmful! "You may as well assert that reading 'Treasure Island' will spread piracy, or 'Moby Dick' will encourage the killing of whales. Wake up and get real, people! Kids need to read books; everything they can get their hands on!" -- LITERARYIDEA |
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The first three Harry Potter books have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide and broken numerous sales records. Harry Potter IV is set to become an even bigger hit as the magical shroud of secrecy that has surrounded the plot, cover and title of the book for months has fueled Potter-Mania throughout the English-speaking world.
Harry Potter's British publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing, has printed an unprecedented first run of 1.5 million copies, and plans to reprint almost immediately. Scholastic's first run for the U.S. market is 3.8 million copies. The Harry Potter IV audiobook from the Listening Library, which is being released at the same time as the print book, is facing a first run of 200,000 - the largest ever for a children's audiobook.
Amazon.com has been keeping an 'Hour-By-Hour Muggle Count' of advance orders for Harry Potter IV, which is set to be the biggest online bestseller ever. As I write, the number is in excess of 283,000 preorders.
Chamber of Secrets
The fourth installment of the Harry Potter series has been an amazingly well-kept secret. Even the title of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" remained a mystery until last week, when it was leaked and published by London's Sunday Telegraph, and later confirmed by the publisher.
The plot is still a mystery, even though Scotland's Daily Record accidentally received a copy of the book before the release date. The newspaper returned the copy, and refused to disclose details on the plot, preferring to keep the mystery alive until July 8, when the book will be released in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Booksellers had to agree to a strict embargo of the title until July 8. Cases of books must remain sealed to preserve the secrecy surrounding the book. These very precautions, however, stirred up some controversy among booksellers who believed Amazon.com was given preferential treatment after Scholastic and Amazon announced a plan to allow the online bookselling giant to arrange for delivery of the book on July 8th. Scholastic later sent out a letter announcing the same opportunity to all booksellers so long as they could guarantee that those books would not arrive before Saturday, July 8.
In a letter to PW Daily, Avin Mark Domnitz, the CEO of the American Booksellers Association wrote, "Bookshops are scrambling to submit 'approvable' plans to ship early. They will hold their events, satisfy their customers and generally meet consumers' needs in the context of the warmth and community that is the independent bookselling world. But make no mistake about it…what has occurred here is an unconscionable example of a level playing field being tilted by the weight of one huge customer and the publisher that caved to that pressure."
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is going to be a massive success for every bookstore - even those that don't ship early. Many booksellers are planning to stay open late, or open at midnight on the 7th, to give eager Harry Potter fans and insomniacs a chance to buy the book early.
The ABA website has a list of Harry Potter parties and events hosted by Independent booksellers, so find a participating bookstore in your area, and join the party!
Interesting Harry Potter Facts
- HarperCollins, Penguin and Transworld all rejected the original Harry Potter manuscript.
- Chris Columbus (director of Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire among others) will direct a Warner Bros. film of the first book. [Click here for the movie website]
- The J.K. in J.K. Rowling stands for Joanne Kathleen. Her publishers told her to put her initials on the book instead of her full name because they were afraid boys would be turned off by a female author.
- Harry Potter books have been challenged in at least 13 states, according to the American Library Association.
