Posted on 01/15/2003 7:51:42 AM PST by Portnoy
After months of feverish anticipation, author J.K. Rowling has completed the fifth book about young wizard Harry Potter, and it will be published in the United States, Canada, Britain and several other countries on June 21, her publishers said Wednesday.
At 768 pages, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is more than one-third longer than its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Britain's Bloomsbury Publishers said.
"We are thrilled to announce the publication date," chief executive Nigel Newton said in a joint statement with Barbara Marcus, president of Scholastic Children's Books, Rowling's U.S. publisher. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is absolutely superb and will delight all J.K. Rowling's fans. She has written a brilliant and utterly compelling new adventure," Newton said. When the book failed to make it into print last year, as expected, there was speculation that Rowling -- now one of Britain's richest women -- was suffering from writer's block. She denied it, but the book has had a far longer gestation period than its predecessors, published every year from 1997.
Fans will have to wait, because no details of the latest story have been revealed. But the publishers did let slip that the book begins, "The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. ...The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is more than 255,000 words compared to more than 191,000 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Released in July 2000, that sold more copies on the first weekend after publication than any other book, according to Bloomsbury Publishers.
Rowling's four published titles have sold an estimated 192 million copies worldwide in hard and soft cover, and the books have been published in at least 55 languages and distributed in more than 200 countries.
Unfortunately, Rowling is not likely to win the Nobel prize in literature: that honor is reserved for left-leaning Socialists and ... Marxists.
Breaking News?
I doubt that these books will ever scale the heights and achieve the status of Great Literature, but they're fun, they're well-written, and they make kids think about the right things.
I can't wait to get my copy!
Breaking News? Harry Potter sux0r.
It is for me.
Ditto here.
My middle daughter continually begs me to read "Goblet of Fire" with her. It stretches her reading level. Her books are worth every penny to me as a homeschooling dad
Rowling Delivers Manuscript By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Of Fifth Harry Potter Book
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- It's official, one of the publishing industry's most eagerly awaited manuscripts has finally been submitted.
Author J.K. Rowling has completed her fifth book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." It will be published on June 21 in the U.S., Britain, Canada and Australia by her American publisher Scholastic Corp. and Britain's Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
The book is crucial for Scholastic, whose investors were concerned whether Ms. Rowling was suffering from writer's block, something she has steadily refuted. Ms. Rowling's books have helped make the company a publishing powerhouse by contributing millions in profit.
Still, some observers wonder if there may be a fall-off in readership because Ms. Rowling's original readers are now five or six years older than when they first became enamored with the series.
The first four Potter novels were published every summer starting in 1997. Her fans have been waiting for the new book since "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in July 2000. Since then, two Harry Potter movies have been successfully released, helping to build demand for Ms. Rowling's latest volume. In a recent interview, she said that she intends to write seven Harry Potter books in total.
Ms. Rowling's four published titles have sold an estimated 192 million copies world-wide in hard and soft cover. They have been published in at least 55 languages and distributed in more than 200 countries.
The delivery of her manuscript is welcome news for book retailers. The recent Christmas selling season was disappointing for the three major U.S. book retail chains -- Barnes & Noble Inc., Borders Group Inc., and Books-A-Million Inc. Now the trio, as well as the nation's independent book stores, are assured of having a hot title this summer that will pull in the customers.
In making the joint announcement, Barbara Marcus, president of Scholastic Children's Books in the U.S., and Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing in Britain said: "We are thrilled to announce the publication date. 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' is absolutely superb and will delight all J.K. Rowling's fans."
The novel begins: "The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. ... The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four."
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com
Bah I've read supposed great literature that was pure trash. (Ulysees anyone?)
All good novels have one thing in common whether it be works of Great Literature(sic) or Harry Potter stories (Which I think is great): "does the reader turn the page to see what happens next?"
All else is pure hogwash!
For my household? Yep. My son has been bugging me about the date and trying to find out for the last six months or more.
Brussels investigators are believed to have asked seven studios, including Warner Brothers, Columbia Tristar and Walt Disney, to explain the television distribution contracts for their movies - one of their fastest growing revenue streams.
The inquiry is still at a preliminary stage but it is understood the European Commission is concerned that the contracts might stifle competition between studios. Brussels was also believed to be concerned that the long-term, exclusive agreements between studios and broadcasters might prevent rival companies entering the pay-TV market, forcing consumers to pay higher prices.
Subscription television companies including BSkyB of the UK, Canal Plus in France and Sogecable of Spain have also been asked to provide details of their contracts with the studios.
The inquiry could lead to radical changes in the way Hollywood sells TV rights to EU broadcasters. If Brussels concludes that the contracts breach EU competition rules, it can force studios and broadcasters to change them - a measure it has already taken in the market for television rights to European club football.
The Commission declined to comment on Tuesday but it is understood it is focusing on the duration, exclusivity and payment terms of pay-TV film contracts. Two years ago, Mario Monti, EU competition commissioner, said long-term, exclusive film rights were a matter of concern.
People close to the situation said Brussels had noticed a number of similarities among contracts between studios and broadcasters. The commission is seeking reassurances that studios do not collude in setting prices and terms for movie rights - an allegation they deny. Contracts clauses that require broadcasters to match payments granted to one studio to its rivals are also likely to be scrutinised.
David Hulbert, president of Walt Disney Television (International), confirmed that the commission contacted the company. He said the studio was not engaged in exclusive or anti-competitive deals and pointed out that it supplied the French broadcaster Canalsatellite, part of Canal Plus, its rival TPS and the cable-TV industry in France.
"The studios themselves are worried by markets where one [pay-TV] platform has emerged as a dominant player," he said. "Elsewhere the industry is very competitive."
The Brussels inquiry follows a complaint by TPS, the French pay-TV company, about alleged anti-competitive film tie-ups between several Hollywood studios and Canalsatellite.
Canal Plus, part of the Vivendi Universal group, declined to comment.
Television rights are one of the studios' fastest-growing revenues streams, with European TV distribution rights tripling during the 1990s to more than $1.5bn a year. A number of pay-TV companies, led by BSkyB, are seeking reduced payments for movie rights and have threatened to drop studios that refuse to renegotiate more favourable terms.
Studio executives, however, have also expressed concern at the mounting power of pay-TV companies, which account for a growing proportion of their film earnings.
If I understand these things correctly, the editing will take the bulk of the time; of course, there'll have to be enough room to hype the thing as well...
I thought she was a southpaw.
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