Publishers Weekly: “Potter a Mixed Blessing”

The June arrival of Order of the Phoenix has some publishers possibly rethinking release dates of upcoming books. Quotage:

In July 2000, the big titles coming out at the same time as Potter IV created a perfect storm that picked up publicity, production and sales of other books in its tempest — and resulted in diminished numbers for other titles in all three areas. This year the waves could crash even higher.

“It’s kind of like John Grisham,” said Bantam publisher Irwyn Applebaum. “Everyone starts juggling pub dates as if all those books were going to be clear #1 bestsellers, even though it’s a little bit of wishful thinking.” Penguin CEO David Shanks said simply, “A sure-fire number one bestseller will want to stay away.”