Tuesday, June 4, 2554

ArtsBeat: Rowling releases ' Harry Potter ' to air on Pottermore

J.K. Rowling, left, with Harry Potter fans Simran Sethi, center, and Ivy Aris, both 12, at the launch of the Pottermore.com Web site in London on Thursday.Andy Rain/European Pressphoto AgencyJ. K. Rowling, left, with supporters Simran Sethi "Harry Potter", centro and Ivy, both 12 Aris, in London, where the website Pottermore.com Web started on Thursday.

Harry Potter is coming as an e-book.

J. k. Rowling, the author behind the series of fantasy blockbusters, said at a press conference in London on Thursday that a new interactive Web site built around the series will sell electronic editions of the seven books of "Harry Potter", previously only available in print and audio books.

"I wanted to give something back to the fans who followed Harry so devotedly throughout the years and bring the stories to a new digital generation," said Ms. Rowling.

The announcement set off a frenzy on-line worldwide, as fans of the series of Harry Potter learned what ms. Rowling was exciting for days. Last week revealed a mysterious website, Pottermore.com, but she wouldn't describe the project in every detail, until Thursday.

Ms. Rowling has maintained the digital rights to his books and for years has resisted the creation of e-book editions, despite the popularity and profitability that would inevitably follow. In the past have exploded several electronic sales years of popular books, and publishers were quick to digitize their books backlist.

The e-book of Harry Potter, will be available in October from the online store at Pottermore.com, but not at online retailers like Amazon and Barnes Noble &. Which means bookstore chains and independents, who heavily promoted the release of Harry Potter books with splashy midnight release parties will be left out of the e-book sales, but publishers Lady Rowling, Scholastic and Bloomsbury, receive a share of revenues. (Pricing Information will not be available until closer to the date of sale.)

The site Pottermore will include material that was not part of original books, and e-book editions are expected to have illustrations and interactive elements, said on Thursday.

"I'll be sharing additional information that I've been hoarding for years on the world of Harry Potter," ms. Rowling told reporters in London. "It was an incredible experience for me to be able to be creative in this medium that did not exist in 1990, when I got the idea for the books."

While legions of Harry Potter fans may download electronic books to supplement the paperboard editions already own, editors expect that younger readers who haven't experienced the original frenzy surrounding the books will be the first to discover them in digital form.

Electronic editions are compatible with all major e-readers. Editor of MS. Rowling in the United States, said Scholastic, would provide marketing and promotional support to help sell books directly to schools and parents. "This will surely more interest in the series to inspire and bring a whole new generation of readers to Harry Potter" Scholastic said in a statement.

The release of the e-book could dampen the rampant piracy of the Harry Potter books, which are among the most downloaded on file-sharing sites, a situation that has frustrated Ms. Rowling and her publishers for years.

The seven Harry Potter books have sold 450 million copies worldwide and were translated into 70 languages. The latest film in the franchise, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: part 2" is scheduled to open in the United States on 15 July.

The agreement that ms. Rowling described on Thursday was unusual by the standards of publication, since most editors will not acquire rights by printing a book without digital rights attached.


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