With 99 days to go until publication, the final book in the Harry Potter series is breaking all previous records.
UK bookseller Waterstone's said today that it has seen phenomenal interest in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which goes on sale on July 21.
Although the book chain would not give a figure, it said pre-orders have already out-stripped the record 100,000 it received for the last volume, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was published two years ago. It expects demand to increase further in the run-up to the summer publication date.
Records are also being broken across the Atlantic, with US bookseller Barnes & Noble revealing yesterday that it has taken more than 500,000 pre-orders for the boy wizard's last adventure - the highest figure for any book in its history.
The US chain believes it will have racked up over one million pre-orders by the time the book finally goes on sale.
Internet retailer Amazon also appears to be on track to hit the one million mark. By today, Amazon.com had recorded over 485,000 pre-orders. Latest figures for Amazon.co.uk weren't available, but it hit the 100,000 mark within two days of accepting pre-orders last December. Demand has been high ever since.
"At one stage, pre-orders for the seventh Harry Potter book were outstripping the rest of the top 20 bestsellers combined by a ratio of five to one," said a spokesman for Amazon UK.
The arrival of a new Potter novel has now become a major event in the book-selling world. In 2005, 2m copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were sold on publication day in the UK alone.
But interest is especially high this time, not just because it is the final volume, but also because author J K Rowling has already revealed that two characters will die.
"This time, people really want to find out the ending and learn who lives and who dies. They don't want that to be spoiled by hearing it via the media or from their friends," the Waterstone's spokesman said.
Tesco, which is also accepting pre-orders, anticipates "Potter-mania on a scale not seen before".
"We are predicting over 350,000 copies will be sold in the first 12 hours alone and we've got a dedicated team working to make sure fans can get the book on the stroke of midnight in over 300 of our stores," said a Tesco spokesperson. Last time it sold 400,000 copies in the first 24 hours.
Waterstone's also plans to have almost all its stores open at midnight.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has a recommended retail price of £17.99, but customers who have pre-ordered will pay only around half that amount. Amazon is charging £8.99, with free delivery if the total order exceeds £15, Tesco charges even less, at £8.77, with a free delivery threshold of £20.
Smaller booksellers have warned that they may not stock the book as they cannot match these prices. Some have even said that it would be cheaper for them to buy Potter stock from supermarkets or Amazon than from their usual suppliers.
