Scholastic and a Decade of Harry Potter

As the year draws to an end, Scholastic, US publishers of the Harry Potter novels, have a reminder for us today of the remarkable decade that was, and the amazing impact of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The sales figures are staggering, but as publisher Arthur A. Levine and VP of Scholastic reminds us, the true magic has been in the reading:

“What the numbers leave out is the singular experience
that so many young people had of actually growing up WITH a literary
character, which had never been done before. “Kids who
began reading Harry Potter when they were in elementary school, finished
Harry’s story as they finished major life milestones in this decade. And
they took with them not only a deep experience of the pleasure a book can
bring, but a validation of hopefulness that one’s actions matter more than
one’s circumstances, and a message that truly love does conquer all.”

As a recap, the following is a list of some of the milestones the series (and we fans) have seen these past years:

(All sales figures are U.S. only)

July 8, 2000 — 3.8 million – the record-breaking initial print-run of
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

July 11, 2000 — 3 million – copies sold in the first weekend from the
release of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” breaking all publishing
sales records.

March, 12, 2001 — Release of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and
“Quidditch Through the Ages” with net proceeds to benefit Comic Relief, UK.

June 21, 2003 — 6.8 million – the record-breaking initial print-run of
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

June 22, 2003 — 5 million – copies sold in the first 24 hours following
the release of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” breaking all
publishing records.

July 16, 2005 — 10.8 million – the record-breaking initial print-run of
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

July 17, 2005 — 6.9 million – copies sold in the first 24 hours following
the release of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” breaking all
publishing records.

June 14, 2006 — Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report reveals that
76% of parents say reading Harry Potter has helped their child do better in
school.

August 1 & 2, 2006 — 2 sold-out nights of “Harry, Carrie & Garp.” J.K.
Rowling, Stephen King and John Irving read and answered questions for fans
at Radio City Music Hall, benefiting Doctors without Borders and
The Haven Foundation.

June 4 – July 20, 2007 — 40 libraries across the country visited by the
Knight Bus where fans were invited to share on video their thoughts and
feelings about the Harry Potter Books.

July 21, 2007 — 12 million – the record-breaking initial print-run of
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

July 22, 2007 — 8.3 million – copies sold in the first 24 hours following
the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” breaking all
industry records.

August 2, 2007 — 11.5 million – copies sold in the first 10 days following
the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

October 15-19, 2007 — 2,000 – books signed by J.K. Rowling at each of four
free events on the Open Book Tour, where J.K. Rowling read, from “Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and answered questions at the Kodak Theater
in Los Angeles, the New Orleans Convention Center and Carnegie Hall in New
York City.

June 11, 2008 — Scholastic’s Kids and Family Reading Report finds that 74%
of kids say reading Harry Potter made them interested in reading other
books. http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport

September 23, 2008 — 7 1/2 hours – spent by hundreds of fans reading aloud
J.K. Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in its
entirety at Scholastic’s “Cover to Cover” event in celebration of the tenth
anniversary of the book’s publication.

December 3, 2008 — Scholastic releases “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” to
benefit the Children’s High Level Group, a charity co-founded in 2005 by
J.K. Rowling and Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, MEP to make life
better for vulnerable children.

September 20, 2009 — 228 – weeks Harry Potter spent on The New York Times
bestseller list.