Not so Wild About Harry

British Independent Booksellers Refuse to Stock "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

Fans across the world are anxiously awaiting the July 21^st release of J.K. Rowling's final installment in her famous Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. What they might not be expecting, however, is the cover price: $34.99, making it one of the most expensive children books published. This is quite a high price for a book that millions of readers will want to get their hands on, especially when one considers that many of those fans will be children that don't have the $34.99 to spend on a book. By comparison, when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published by Scholastic in 1999, the cover price was $17.95.

Many of the major retailers - Amazon.com, Costco, Barnes & Noble, Walmart - are offering heavy discounts for readers. (Amazon is offering 46% off, Costco 50% off, Barnes & Noble 40% off and Walmart 49% off.) Yet, where does this leave the independent booksellers, the mom and pop book stores, the ones who were the first to promote Harry Potter and who usually only just scrape by on the thinnest of profit margins? Do they discount it themselves, taking a hit in the profit column, or do they sit back and pray that readers will be loyal to and buy Deathly Hallows at full price?

In Britain, this has led to an interesting situation. According to Publishers Weekly, nearly 25% of the nation's independent booksellers have decided not to stock the book at all. That's right, on author J.K. Rowling's home-turf, up to a quarter of the independent booksellers have said "No" to Rowling, her publisher and Harry Potter. There is no word yet on whether American independent booksellers will be doing the same.

This is a seemingly sour note on which to end fans' ever-deepening love affair with Rowling and her creation, but the booksellers claim they have little choice.

Harry Potter has become an archetypal character since his debut in 1999 and has inspired many readers. He is the defender of the weak and an enemy of oppression. One has to wonder what Harry would do in this situation.