JK Rowling has declared that Harry Potter is effectively finished in terms of new stories, aside from the play which opened at the weekend and which will run in two parts.
“He goes on a very big journey during these two plays and then, yeah, I think we’re done, " she told Reuters. "This is the next generation, you know, So, I’m thrilled to see it realised so beautifully but, no, Harry is done now.”
Meanwhile, Bloomsbury publishing is planning a major campaign in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in the best-selling series.To mark the 20th anniversary, special Hogwarts House editions of the first book will be published next year.
Quite aside from the Cursed Child show and script, both of which are already runaway successes, in terms of sold-out tickets and book sales, the next instalment in the Jim Kay-illustrated series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is due in October, according to Mugglenet.com. The first book of Jim Kay drawings sold over 94,000 copies in the UK alone.
Bloomsbury will also commission three new illustrators to create full-colour illustrated editions of J.K. Rowling’s three Hogwarts Library books. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be launched in autumn 2017, The Tales of Beedle the Bard in 2018, and Quidditch Through the Ages in 2019.
Meanwhile, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - the film - is due released in November, while updated version of the school textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, first published in 2001, will be released early in 2017. The new edition will contain additional content from J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter sales for publisher Bloomsbury were up 126% in 2015 on the prior year following a programme of major initiatives, including the illustrated book and a special Harry Potter night.
The Cursed Child script made the top spot in the 2016 pre-order charts for Amazon’s print and Kindle e-book sales, and was Barnes & Noble’s top pre-ordered book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which appeared in 2007.
