ninme

This should excite some rabid Harry Potter Fans I know.

FOXnews - Bells and Whistles for New Potter Book

NEW YORK — You already know a new Harry Potter book is coming this summer. Here are some bells and whistles.

First, expect enough books out there to fill all of Hogwarts. Scholastic Inc., the U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series, has announced a first printing of 10.8 million copies of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the largest such printing for a hardcover release in this country.

That’s a lot of books. And yet still none for me. I’ll have to wait till I’m in Canada to get the real version with all the words spelled correctly.

To make sure that nobody could miss the book’s arrival, Scholastic also announced Wednesday a range of marketing gimmicks, including a Harry Potter crossword puzzle in The New York Times in July, promotional spots on the Times Square billboard, Google ads and video commercials on domestic flights of Continental Airlines and American Airlines.

Bookstores already are planning their traditional parties to mark the midnight, July 16 publication of “Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth of seven planned books. Worldwide sales have topped 250 million for the fantasy series, which has been translated into 62 languages.

I love when real authors make tons of money hand over fist. It’s terribly gratifying.