Author J K Rowling announced on Thursday that her seven Potter novels will be sold as e-books starting in October — ending the boy wizard’s status as one of the highest-profile holdouts against digital publishing.
“You can’t hold back progress,” Rowling said. “E-books are here and they are here to stay.”
The magical stories that conquered the world in print form will be available as audiobooks and e-books in multiple languages exclusively through a new interactive website, ‘Pottermore.’
Rowling, one of the world’s most powerful authors, is bypassing established online retailers like Amazon, although the creators of Pottermore say the books will be compatible with popular e-readers including Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and Apple’s iPad.
“It’s very important to Jo to make the books available to everybody, not to make them available only to people who own a particular set of devices, or tethered to a particular set of platforms,” said Tom Turcan, chief operating officer of the new venture, Pottermore Ltd. He said prices for the e-books would be announced closer to October.
The site is a partnership with Sony Corp and its online shop is described as “a potential outlet for Sony products.” Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said Sony was selected as “the most appropriate partner.”
Rowling also has written 18,000 words of new Potter material for the site, which promises to immerse users in her world of wizards, combining elements of computer games, social networking and an online store. She says the site includes “information I have been hoarding for years” about the books’ characters and settings.
