About 50,000 copies of the seventh book in British writer J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series were sold in western India within hours of its release on Saturday.

“We have sold around 50,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, said Harish Shenoy, Western India in-charge of Penguins, the book’s distributor in the country.

Though the seventh and final Harry Potter book was slated to be released at 6.30 am, fans of the boy wizard had formed queues outside shops in the city from as early as 4 am.

Mumbai’s famous Strand book depot said that 6,000 copies were sold and the shop had almost run out of stock. “Barely 100 copies are left,” said Shenavi, its manager.

Crossword’s Sales Manager Umesh Gadia said, over 1200 copies of the book, priced at Rs 975, had been sold across the country.

Most of those who collected the copies on Saturday had made an advance booking.

Since the first Harry Potter book became a huge hit among young readers, the release of other books in the series has always been a much-awaited event.

In Kerala too, rain did not play spoilsport. Fans queued up early morning to collect their copies.

The last of the Potter series arrived in book shops at 6.15 am. Children arrived at least an hour before stores opened in some places.

Kottayam-based DC books, one of the suppliers of the book in Kerala, said 5,300 books, all booked in advance, were lifted within two to three hours of sales.

An additional 3,000 copies have been airlifted and are expected to be sold by next week. In Kochi, DC Books has three outlets that sold out 1,000 copies.

The chain has also organised the release of the book in 138 schools across the state, including those in remote Idukki and Wayanad regions.

Painting and fancy dress competitions and a magic show, in which a 15-year-old magician from Bangalore would perform the role of the boy wizard, are being organised as promotional events.

Malayala Manorama has tied up with Penguin Books India for distribution of the book through its outlets.
A CD of Encyclopaedia Britannica student library is being distributed free by the group to children, who buy the book.

Record sales registered
New Delhi, PTI: Harry Potter fans across the country on Saturday enthusiastically snapped up copies of the final volume of the book, which broke all records to register a sale of over 1.7 lakh copies on the first day of its release.

“Never in the publishing history has India witnessed such a frenzied reaction to any book. We have already sold over 1.7 lakh copies today,” said Himali Sodhi, Head of Marketing, Penguin, which is the distributor of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.Bookstore owners said never before have they witnessed such demand for any book.

“I have never seen such craze for any other book. We have been receiving pre-orders since March,” said Nitin Chatterjee, Store Manager, Oxford bookstore.