POTTERMANIA: BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Long overdue post, posted at the risk of repeating some stuff you've heard before...

It sold 11.3 million copies in 24 hours in the US, UK and Germany alone. That's not all, the book made it to Afghan capital Kabul, sold out in Bangladeshi capital - Dhaka, in Sri Lankan capital Colombo and flew off the book shelves in India. We haven't even got to the pirated bits yet. Should any of the statistics and facts about the seventh and final Harry Potter book - 'The Deathly Hallows' surprise you?

You bet. For a very long time, we've heard of books being sold in the hundreds, thousands, ok a couple of thousands, but millions has been unheard of. Also take a step back in time. Remember circa 1997? Wasn't there talk about the death of the book? The rise of computers, how we'll be reading books online, publishing as we know it will be redefined?

What a difference 10 years can make. Far from dying, it wasn't one or two million. In all, 325 million copies of the first six books in the series have sold worldwide. That's not all, they were translated into 64 languages, reaching out to practically every market in the world. Yes, I know the cynics would argue, how many of the millions were actually read? Even if half of them did, in my book that would be more than a perfect start.


SALES AND LONGEVITY:
Beyond the sales and the actual reading, its also been argued that after the initial frenzy, the calculated hype the Harry Potter novels may be forgotten. Some critics have gone a step further saying J K Rowling's prose is unlikely to sustain her reputation. I balk as I disagree. I like her style, I like the spirit of adventure and the age old battle between good versus evil. And as it's often been pointed out in the past, there's no predictable link between prose style and longevity. What matters far more in terms of staying power of a book is the creation of a world and characters that captivate readers, and that linger in the collective imagination of readers long after they have flipped the last page. Given that Harry Potter series has all of this, the Boy Wizard is certain to be with us for many, many years.

ON THE BOOK:
But what of the book you ask? It was expectedly a mix of emotions. Great to see the way the story panned out, fear because you never know what's going to happen next and sorrow because this was it, this was closure. It's almost like saying a final farewell to a dear friend. And to avoid the risk of giving too much away, let me say that the seventh and final book exceeds expectations. There is Rowling's spectacular narrative, bound together though the sheer magic of her pen. Like before, what makes it truly special is her ability to create so much out of human emotions.

For some the fuss may be silly, the hype over-the-top, Potter may be not just a book but a brand. For whatever its worth, I think on the whole, the debate has been great. It has stretched people's imaginations like never before. It has reminded us that reading books has been and will remain fun. Potter has taken us away from our cell phones, our X-Boxes, our computers, at least for a bit. For that and a whole lot more, I, like millions of others shall be forever indebted to Rowling's literary tour de force.

THE RISE AND RISE OF THE BOOKS:
1) Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone - 1997 - PAGES 223
2) Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets - 1998- PAGES 251
3) Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban - 1999 - PAGES 317
4) Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - 2000 - PAGES 636
5) Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix - 2003 - PAGES 766
6) Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - 2005 - PAGES 632
7) Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - 21st July 2007 - PAGES 607

What makes it even more special is what Rowling has had to say about his phenomenal success:
"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world."
"It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers."

ROWLING SPEAK

When I read the inaccurate reports that I decided to turn my hand to writing out of poverty, I feel indignant. When I had the idea for Harry and when I started writing the (first) book, I was working full time, as I was for my entire adult life, and I was not a single parent. I finished the book under those conditions. But it obviously does make a better story. It sounds more like a rags-to-riches tale.

Hermione is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was 11, which I'm not particularly proud of. She's quite annoying in a lot of ways. I like her as a character, but I'm very aware that some people wouldn't.

The books are getting darker, and that's inevitable. If you are writing about Good and Evil, there comes a point where you have to get serious. This is something I really have had to think about.

Came across this, while researching the Potter and reading interview I did this morning. With the opening line, it's evident, this interview has been done by someone deeply passionate about books. Roxanne Feldman, who did such a superb job, is a middle school librarian at the Dalton School in New York City. The interview with J K Rowling was done way back in 1999, but that doesn't stop the truth from ringing true.

THE MIDNIGHT READING

If you are a die hard Potter fan, this bit is for you.

You can hear J K Rowling read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in a live webstream from the Natural History Museum in London when it is released worldwide.

The time is 12.01am BST this Saturday, 21st July.

Bloomsbury says the launch event is "completely oversubscribed" and fans are being encouraged to log on to the webstream.

What would we do without technology on hand?

ETERNAL DREAD

I remember when I was asked to produce the cover artwork for ‘Harry Potter And The Order of The Phoenix’ I was very busy with a number of picture books. I’d holed myself up in the workroom, and wasn’t answering the phone. My agent, Eunice Mcmullen, left an urgent message on my answer-machine, telling me that I had an offer for a cover and that I should drop whatever I was doing, because: ‘YOU WILL WANT TO DO THIS!’ Now there’s plenty of very desirable jobs in children’s publishing, but when your agent tells you to drop everything and call her back immediately then you’ve got a pretty good idea what job she’s talking about. I think my first reaction was excitement. That lasted about thirty seconds. Then the fear kicked-in.
- JASON COCKCROFT
Jacket Illustrator, Harry Potter Books 5,6 & 7

Thanks again Zhi Wei.

POTTER CRUNCHING

The not quite a boy wizard is everywhere. He is flooding my inbox, making it impossible for me to keep speed. The numbers are astounding. Expecting nothing less, it's Harry Potter, Dudes and Dames.

The Nielsen BookScan reveals since 1998 - that's when Nielsen began measuring book sales in the UK - the six Harry Potter books have sold more than 22.5 million copies in Britain. Since 2001, more than 27.7 million Harry Potter books sold in the US.

The last book of the immensely popular series 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will be out on July..... - oh you do know that!

As you sit there, at the edge of your seat to find out if book seven will really spell the end, get ready to crunch some fun facts that have headed my way courtesy Loi Zhi Wei of Penguin Books.

- If all the Harry Potter books ever sold were placed end to end, they would go around the equator over 1.6 times.

- The total number of all the Harry Potter books ever sold is more than the population of the USA.

- On its first day of sale in Britain, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold at a rate of 23 books per second.

- Since the publication of the first book, the books have sold at an average rate of 90,000 per day.

- Just as you finished reading this fact, 15 more books would have been sold.

- And I like this best. If all the words in all the Harry Potter books ever sold were distributed evenly among everyone in the world, each person would end up with nearly 8,000 words.

That sure is a mouthful....

So, while you may have your quibbles, you can't get away from the fact that they've got the world reading. From 5-50, 6-60, 7-70, 8-80, 9-90 - they've covered them all. And that, my dears, is a darn good thing.

DEATHLY HALLOWS UNVEILED

Ok, ok, not the book, not the plot, not who will perish, but the covers.

You still have to wait until the 21st of July to lay your hands on the seventh and final book in the enormously successful Harry Potter series. Though if pictures tell a story, expect lots of dark action.

Between the two and considering both the adult and children's edition will weigh a modest 0.663 kilograms, I'll settle for the kiddie version. More colour in the drama thanks to Jason Cockcroft's cover illustration. He's done the covers for the previous two books, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The adult edition has a photograph by Michael Wildsmith, who has photographed all the adult editions.

While you countdown to the 21st, feast your eyes on these and bookmark Bloomsbury for all the updates.