STRAP: Around the world: Globally, 450 million copies of the seven titles in the Harry Potter series have sold in the 20 years since the first book
It's Potter-mania time again as fans get ready to lay their hands on the first Harry Potter book in 10 years. "Harry Potter & The Cursed Child" releases on July 31, and anticipation among fans is at fever pitch.
"I can't wait for it," said Shreya Gupta, a class VIII student in Delhi who was too young when the last book, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, came but has "devoured" the series and the films several times. "I have preordered 'The Cursed Child' online already and they'll delivered it on the 31st itself. I'm also trying to persuade my parents to take me to the stores as I want to experience the excitement there."
"Harry Potter is unquestionably the biggest brand publishing has ever seen," says Thomas Abraham, managing director of, Hachette India, the book's publishers. Globally, 450 million copies of the seven titles in the Harry Potter series have sold in the 20 years since the first book, "Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone". This last book, which released in 2007, sold 15 million copies in the first day itself, 11 million in the UK & US alone. While both publishers and retailers don't want to give out figures, but trade experts say that an estimated 2 lakh copies were brought into India for the launch of the last Harry Potter.
Pre-orders for "Harry Potter & The Cursed Child" began on Amazon, one of the leading e-tailers, on February 17 this year, making it the book one of the longest pre-order windows this year - average pre-orders are between one and 1.5 months. " We have received a tremendous response," says the Amazon India spokesperson. "This has been one of our biggest pre-orders ever."
"Harry Potter is also possibly the first where the books and characters grow with the reader -- from year one to the darker stories post book four," says Abraham, explaining the phenomenon. "So there are new readers being added on; and loyal Potterheads who will continue to read. And this is not a sidestory.. it is the eighth story that begins where the earlier one left off. So the anticipation is high as people want to know how the story proceeds for their favourite characters," he adds.
To engage Potter fans, Hachette is running a campaign with signed copies of the books as the prize on offer, while book stores and retail chains such as Landmark, Crossword and Starmark are hosting events on publication day to recreate the magic of Potter with activities for children, cosplay competitions, quizzes, games etc.
Several others have jumped into the bandwagon with Harry Potter events - in Mumbai, Trilogy bookstore is hosting a Harry Potter and JK Rowling party, while The Hive in Khar hosts "Alohomora: The Harry Potter Extravaganza" today. Needless to say, it's a sell out. Similarly, Anti-Social in Delhi had a writing workshop on "The Magic of Harry Potter", which was sold out as was an event hosted at Chennai's The ilovereadin' Library .
"Harry Potter & The Cursed Child" takes the story 19 years forward from where Rowling last left off in "Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows". 'The Cursed Child' features Potter as a middle-aged, "overworked employee of the ministry of magic"; Albus, one of his three sons; and Scorpius, the latter's friend and son of Potter's antagonist Draco Malfoy. The book is the script-book of a play of the same name which premiered at West End has been written by Jack Thorne though the story is by Rowling's and the play director John Tiffany which opened at the Palace Theatre in London on July 30.
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