Pottermore conjures Harry Potter ebooks
harry-potter-book7-amazon © by Colin ZHU
Ebook editions of JK Rowling’s seven bestselling Harry Potter titles went on sale for the first time today, marking what is being described as digital publishing’s “Beatles’ moment”.
Initially scheduled to launch last October, the anticipated Potter ebooks became available to buy from Rowling’s new venture, the website Pottermore, today. The first three novels cost £4.99 in ebook form, compared to a cover price of £6.99 for the print editions, while the final four are priced at £6.99 in ebook compared to an £8.99 cover price in print. All seven can be purchased in a bundled digital edition for £38.64, and the ebooks are compatible with devices and platforms including Sony’s Reader, Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Google Play. Although the titles feature on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, they can only be bought from Pottermore.
“Today is a great day for Harry Potter fans and ebook readers alike. Not only is this phenomenally popular series available in ebook form for the first time, but across an extensive range of devices and platforms, thanks to unique collaborations with leading online retailers,” said Pottermore chief executive Charlie Redmayne. The Pottermore website, which allows users to journey through the world of the Harry Potter books, will open to all in early April.
“This is digital publishing’s Beatles’ moment,” said Philip Jones, deputy editor of The Bookseller. “These will be huge – they are a game changer because of the power of the Potter brand.”
Jones said the prices of £4.99 and £6.99 for the ebooks were “fair, given their public utterances that they don’t want to cannibalise print sales”.
“Harry Potter in print made £4m last year, so that’s a business they obviously don’t want to see evaporate, yet they do want to grow digital business too,” said Jones. “They’re not being aggressive about digital pricing but that might change as they watch how customers respond. They will also bring out enhanced editions, which will help them build a broader digital business.”
The Harry Potter series has sold 450m copies worldwide to date. Last month, Rowling announced she had signed a deal to write a new book for adults, but revealed nothing about its contents other than that the title would “explore new territory”.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Auch interessant:
Harry Potter pilgrims find their own magic in Chicago
No more films, no more books – but thousands of Hogwarts devotees flocked to the third LeakyCon fan convention
Unlike Harry Potter, The Casual Vacancy casts no spells
I'd expect JK Rowling to make the transition to literary fiction no more successfully than Enid Blyton could have, which seems to have been the case
Pottermore: A first look inside Harry Potter’s digital world
First million users enrol at digital Hogwarts, learning from new content by JK Rowling
JK Rowling ‘writing hard’ on new work
Harry Potter author says the end of the film series is 'a new beginning'
