Melville House Books

Continuing the months-early publicity blitz, Scholastic, Inc., the American publisher of the Harry Potter books, has announced that the first printing of the newest edition, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be 10.8 million copies. As an Associated Press wire story notes, “The previous record holder was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out in 2003 with a first run of 8.5 million.” But as the story also notes, the book already has significant pre-orders, and has topped the Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com lists since its announcement in December. Meanwhile, don’t expect the publicity blitz to let up any time soon: “Scholastic also announced Wednesday a range of marketing gimmicks, including a Harry Potter crossword puzzle in The New York Times in July, promotional spots on the Times Square billboard, Google ads and video commercials on domestic flights of Continental Airlines and American Airlines.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.