Scholastic Releases Cover of Highly Anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

		The cover of the highly anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter book published in the U.S. by Scholastic, under the Arthur A. Levine Books imprint, due in stores on July 16, 2005. Once again the cover art is created by Mary GrandPré, the illustrator of all five previous U.S. editions of the Harry Potter books. (PRNewsFoto) NOTE TO EDITORS: We ask that you please use this image in its entirety. [AG] NEW YORK, NY USA

Deluxe Edition to Be Published Simultaneously With Special 32-Page Illustration Insert NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, today released the cover of the highly anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter book due in stores on July 16th. Once again, the stunning cover art was created by Mary GrandPre, the acclaimed illustrator of all five previous U.S. editions of the Harry Potter books. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050308/NYTU105 ) The cover of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is drawn in tones of eerie greens with purple shadows incorporated into the background. It depicts 16-year-old Harry looking very attentive and Dumbledore with his hand extended as they look into a basin from which a mysterious green light is emanating. "In creating the Harry Potter artwork, I try to bring a certain amount of realism and believability to the characters and setting, but still add an element of wonder and the unknown," said Mary GrandPre. "For the cover of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the mood of the art is truly eerie. I wanted the colors to be strong and I chose upward lighting and dramatic shadows to convey a kind of surreal place and time. It is an honor to illustrate for such an amazing writer as J.K. Rowling. She gives me, as an illustrator, so much to work with." "With each new cover image, Mary beautifully captures both the essence of Harry's journey and the changes he is going through," said Arthur Levine, Vice President, Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic and editor of the Harry Potter books. "Individually, each jacket is like a concentrated visual taste of the book inside, and collectively they form a portrait gallery of a boy growing up very much in the public eye." Scholastic also announced the simultaneous July 16th release of a deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The edition will include a 32-page insert on special paper at the end of the book featuring near scale reproductions of Mary GrandPre's interior art, as well as a never- before-seen piece of full-color-art for the frontispiece. The book, which comes in a foil-stamped cardboard slipcase printed with the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince cover image, will also include a blind-stamped cloth case, full-color endpapers printed with the jacket art from the regular edition, luxurious foil, and a wraparound jacket featuring exclusive, suitable-for-framing art from Mary GrandPre. The deluxe edition will be a total of 704 pages and have a retail value of $60.00. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc also today released the cover images for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which will appear on editions distributed in Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and many other countries throughout the world. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling's fifth Harry Potter book, was released on June 21, 2003, and was the fastest-selling book in history on the first weekend of its publication. All five 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, as well as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, have been number one bestsellers in the United States, Britain, and around the world. The American editions of the Harry Potter books are published under Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine imprint. Scholastic Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school- based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, http://www.scholastic.com.