NEW YORK, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harry Potter and the Half-
Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter book, published in the U.S. by
Scholastic, hit bookstores nationwide at 12:01 a.m. on July 16, 2005 and once
again Harry Potter made history. Early reports estimate that Scholastic broke
all publishing records, selling an unprecedented 6.9 million copies of Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in its first 24 hours on sale. More than
5,000 midnight parties were held at retailers throughout the country where
fans waited in line, sometimes for hours, to be among the first to get their
copy of the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful series.
"The fact that a brilliantly written book for children just sold 6.9
million copies in the first 24 hours in the U.S. is cause for celebration, not
just for Scholastic but for book lovers everywhere," commented Lisa Holton,
President, Scholastic Children's Book Publishing.
Scholastic announced a record breaking first printing of 10.8 million
books, and retailers reported fast-paced pre-sales leading up to the release
date. Given the tremendous pre-publication interest in Harry Potter and the
Half-Blood Prince, Scholastic rushed a second printing of 2.7 million copies
some of which are in bookstores already.
"We worked closely with our retailers to be sure they not only had enough
books for the midnight madness, but also enough to meet the demand throughout
the coming weeks as reviewers and readers share their enthusiasm," said
Holton.
Adding Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the total number of Harry
Potter books in print in the U.S. alone now stands at over 116 million copies.
All five previous Harry Potter books 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.
|
