New JK Rowling Book Hits Shelves Tomorrow

LONDON — Recession-hit booksellers are hoping for a magical boost from a new book by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a collection of five fables mentioned in Rowling's saga about the boy wizard, is being published around the world Thursday with only a fraction of the carnival-like fanfare that greeted the Potter novels.

But expectations are high for the new book, which has a global print run of 8 million copies.

"We expect it will crash straight in at No. 1 in our book charts," Jon Howells, of Britain's Waterstone's book store chain, said Wednesday. "It would take a battle of magical proportions to dislodge it before Christmas."

The book's print run sounds enormous until you compare it with the Potter books. The final volume, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold 8 million copies in its first 24 hours and had a print run of 12 million in the U.S. alone.

Retailers are not expecting the new book to generate the frenzy that accompanied publication of "Deathly Hallows" in July 2007, when fans dressed as witches and warlocks formed festive crowds outside book stores around the world.

But the day before publication, "Beedle the Bard" was ranked No. 1 on Amazon's British and U.S. Web sites. The Internet retailer is printing 100,000 copies of a leather-bound collectors' edition priced at 50 pounds, or $100 in the United States, and expects them to sell out.

The branch of Borders in central London's Oxford Street was opening at midnight Wednesday, promising magicians and Potter-themed quizzes.

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Waterstone's flagship store in central London also was holding a midnight party for 400 ticket-buying readers from as far away as North America and New Zealand.

Rowling was launching the book Thursday with a tea party for local school children at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, where she lives.

Rowling is donating her royalties to the Children's High Level Group, a charity she co-founded to support institutionalized children in Eastern Europe. The book is published on behalf of the charity by Harry Potter's traditional publishers _ Scholastic in North America and Bloomsbury elsewhere.

Rowling has said she hopes the book will "not only be a welcome present to Harry Potter fans, but an opportunity to give these abandoned children a voice."

Rowling, whose Harry Potter books have sold more than 400 million copies and been translated into 67 languages, wrote the Beedle tales after finishing "Deathly Hallows" last year.

One of the stories, "The Tale Of The Three Brothers," is recounted in "Deathly Hallows," in which the storybook helps Harry and his friends defeat evil Lord Voldemort.

The other tales are "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" and "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump."

Rowling has described "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" as a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, calling it her goodbye to a world she lived in for 17 years.

The book was initially produced last year in an edition of seven handwritten copies. Six were given away by Rowling as gifts, and one was bought by Amazon at an auction for almost 2 million pounds ($3 million).

Comments

[Xgal08]

That's because they enjoy the stephen king. What's wrong with liking an author and buying his books? I don't think that makes them idiots. It just means they are fans of Stephen king and look forward to his new work.

I preordered the book and can't wait for it! I don't get the negativity about her releasing another book.

She is an awesome writer and I look forward to her books. It's a great plus that it's going to charity.

[gr8abz]

I am sooooo sick of recycled Harry Potter. This is commercialism at its most nauseating height. Even my kid said to me, "No more Harry Potter. He's gotten so boring." These days when I hit the book stores I make a point of checking out new authors, give somebody else a chance. But whatever the case, I make sure to steer a wide berth around the hyped up, greed motivated Potter section. To quote my son, " Pleeeaaze! No more Harry Potter."

[kareemachan]

Very nice that the money is going to help children.

[Sutungpo]

Pay attention, "Pippi"! The money is going to a children's charity!

Rowling is the largest donor to what should be the UK's version of the Democratic Party, Labour, even though under Blair Labour sold out to the "dark side". Her money is earned, and it is used to help people. What more can anyone do?

[Bitsko]

Is Gordon Brown the Half-Blood Prince?

[gr8abz]

Mah bad. I didn't read all the comments before I added mine above. If J K Rowling is doing a "Paul Newman" with the money then I commend her. But give me a break - that information is not what I have been receiving. All I get so far are emails ads from the large book chains telling me that my "long wait" is over and "more" Harry Potter has arrived. Personally I feel the whole Harry Potter thing has played it's course ten times over. HOWEVER when I hear about her donating the money to a charity I do an about-face and support it. If what you say is true then it is for a good cause.

[Pippilangstrumpf]

Boy oh boy does this woman know how to get blood from a turnip!!

[amdezurik]

not even close to Stephen King however, he has been using the same plot for decades and idiots buy it every time.

[BSERIUS]

you must be a liberal ... Can't have anyone using their talents to make money...SHE IS DONATING THE PROFITS.

[nippersdad]

That was totally uncalled for. Liberals have no problem with people making money off of their talents, they have difficulties with people using their talents to steal money and then justify it as some kind of noble act.

[Mahi Joe]

What an ignorant comment.

[Birdman]

Pretty odd comment, personally I bought all the books, I enjoyed them, my kids enjoyed them and they were not over priced. Your commnet insinuates that she was somehow doing something wrong by selling these books. Are all authors guilty of this in your eyes? A very strange comment indeed.

[gr8abz]

With all respect to Ms. Rowling, the publishing houses "launched" the whole Harry Potter series in a most unprecedented way, The amount of money and PR poured into the launching of Harry Potter was historic. Probably exceeding that of any book in history -- and that is a fact. Ninety eight percent of all authors get close to zero in financial contributions towards advertising and PR from their publishers. Essentially writers by and large are pretty much on their own when it comes to marketing UNTIL ironically they become famous. So in the beginning it is sink or swim and sadly most sink. Ms. Rowling lucked out super big time. And good for her. It's a sweet series of innocent playful books for kids. But do not compare her career with that of the average writer who has to scrounge around the net 24/7 doing their own self promotion while keeping their day job.

[Mahi Joe]

Well that so-called blood from turnips happens to be all the profit made from this book goes to a Children's charity not a penny in her pocket. Feel better?