Chapter Count E-Mail an Error, says Scholastic; Book "Just Beginning Editing"

Earlier today, a Dutch fan site e-mailed to say that Scholastic told them that Half-Blood Prince was 38 chapters long; we've just had word from a Scholastic rep that the e-mail was "an error," and that "the book is just beginning the editing process andContinued...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Good for Business

Today's news of a release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is good for business, at least those in the bookselling business. MSNBC has this report with a quote from an official from Barnes & Noble who said:

"Sales from the last Harry Potter book grossedContinued...

HBP "A bit shorter" than OotP

We've also received confirmation from Bloomsbury that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is "a bit shorter" than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (MuggleNet reported this this morning.)

Pre-Orders for Half-Blood Prince Now Available

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now available on-line for pre-order.
Barnes and Noble(here) has their price set as $17.99 (USD).
Amazon.com has their pre-order price for the 6th Potter book set at $17.99(USD) as well.
Booksamillion.com also has the same price for their pre-orders.
Amazon.co.ukContinued...

Scholastic: Mary Grand Pre to Design Cover, Price Set at $29.99

Scholastic's Press Release confirms that the US price of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be $29.99, and that Mary Grand Pre will design her sixth straight HP cover. (There's also a placeholder purple cover here, but it's not very exciting.)

News Stories Herald Arrival of Half-Blood Prince

Many news stories are surfacing about the arrival of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Reuters has this story, which says that Scholastic will retail the book for $29.99 here in the US. We will update once the major online retailers have their pre-orders up as well.
Scholastic says theContinued...

OFFICIAL: HBP to be Released on July 16, 2005

It's official! July 16, 2005, will bring the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The news comes from Bloomsbury, JKR's British publishers, this morning:

"Harry Potter and the Half-BloodContinued...

HBP Release Stories Popping Up Everywhere; Scholastic says Release Date to be Announced in Morning

Newspapers and wire services all over are reporting the happy HBP News (even I wrote a story about it for tomorrow's edition of my newspaper). The Associated Press story so far appears in:

Newsday
ABC News
San Francisco Chronicle
Yahoo!

HBP Release Date to be Announced in 24 Hours

All right, we couldn't wait for you all to break into JKR's study.
Jo Rowling has announced on her site that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is FINISHED, and we should hear a release date from her publishers in the next 24 hours. Check back here for updates.

Here's what JKR says aboutContinued...

Amazon.com Clarifies Book Six Notification List Error

Thanks for the many emails letting us know that Amazon.com has cleared up its HBP notification list error from yesterday, with this email:

Greetings from Amazon.com.
We're writing to correct a recent e-mail notification that we sent about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (BookContinued...

The Sun: "Will it be a Harry Christmas?"

UK tabloid The Sun has picked up on yesterday's article regarding the slight change to JKRowling.com and what it might mean for the publication of book six, even quoting TLC reader "Sky" in the piece. Thanks everyone who emailed!

Amazon.com Notification on Book Six: 'Not in Forseeable Future'

A horde of you have e-mailed to tell us that Amazon.com has sent you this notice:

"You previously signed up to be notified when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) became available. Unfortunately, we've learned from our supplier that this item will not be availableContinued...

Tweak to JKRowling.com Welcome Page: Book Six On the Way?

Extremely perceptive reader Potterfan has notified us that the "Welcome" note on JKRowling.com's front page has changed slightly in the past day from this:

This is where I can tell you the truth about rumours or news stories, where I can share the extra information I haven'tContinued...

JKR Spokespeople: Book Six Release Date Rumors False, Info to go on JKRowling.com

Two separate spokespeople for Jo Rowling told TLC today that all these bookstore "memos" going around telling people to expect an announcement on the release date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in early- to mid-January are completely uninformed.Continued...

JKRowling.com: "No News is Good News" (Except there's lots of news)

Our favorite author has updated her site, explaining why "No News is Good News":

I have nothing noteworthy to report, because I have been spending nearly all my time sitting in front of my computer writing, re-writing and taking the occasional break to bang my head off theContinued...