Scholastic Announces Braille Edition of Half-Blood Prince

Scholastic, the US Publishers of the Harry Potter books, officially announced today that a braille edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would soon be available. Working with the National Braille Press, Scholastic said that the book would be available no later than July 19th of this year. Some 10,000 braille editions of the Harry Potter novels have been purchased by blind and visually impared readers. The companies are now working round the clock for the next few weeks to make sure the newest edition of the books is ready for their readers.

“According to the National Braille Press, producing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in braille is a massive, labor-intensive task that will result in the publication of a nine-volume edition that spans 13.5 inches and weighs approximately 11 pounds. It will take only three weeks to transcribe, proof, emboss, collate, and ship the braille edition, because National Braille Press will allocate sufficient resources to accomplish the monumental task in order to meet Braille readers’ request for timely access. Most braille publications can take months or years to go from a print edition into a braille edition.”

Also, the BBC reports that Bloomsbury and The Royal National Institute for the Blind will be releasing the UK Braille edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 16. Author J.K. Rowling is quoted as saying “I’m delighted to be part of a publishing initiative that gives blind and partially sighted children and adults the same reading opportunities as sighted book lovers.”