J.K. Rowling to Sell Harry Potter Ebooks From New Website
By Michael Kelley Jun 23, 2011Ebook versions of the best-selling Harry Potter series will be available starting in October on a new website called "Pottermore." The ebooks will only be available on the Pottermore site, but will be compatible with numerous devices since they will be DRM-free, according to a report on Wired.com.
It was not clear, however, despite the fact that the library ebook vendor OverDrive is going to provide the platform, what the new venture might mean for libraries in the U.S. OverDrive decline to comment, and Mark Hutchinson, a representative for Pottermore, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
"I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation," author J.K. Rowling said at a press conference today at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, according to a press release from her U.K. publisher Bloomsbury. "I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have. To add to my input into the website, everyone will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment - Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site."
The website was created by the digital creative agency TH_NK, according to a posting on its website, under the supervision of Rowling and in co-operation with Sony.
Rowling also released a YouTube video announcing the new site.
Starting today, fans can submit their email addresses in order to be contacted by the site when registration opens on July 31. A million registrants will gain access to the site starting July 31 as a beta phase.
Rowling has written 18,000 words in new material as part of the project, according to Bloomsbury, which will receive a share of the revenues from sales of ebooks via Pottermore. Scholastic is Rowling's publisher in the U.S.
On the decision to make the site the exclusive retailer of the ebooks, Rowling told the Bookseller today: "It was quite straightforward for me . . . It means we can guarantee people everywhere are getting the same experience and at the same time. I am personally lucky to have the resources to do it myself and I could do it, I think, right ."
The site will not sell physical books, Rod Henwood, Pottermore's CEO, told the Bookseller.
"... [B]ut we will be providing links to publishers websites and if they sell the [physical] books there, people can obviously buy them," he said.
Some booksellers were reportedly not happy about being excluded from the electronic sales.
Jon Howells, a spokesman for Britain's Waterstone's chain, told the Associated Press that Harry Potter book launches, "have become the stuff of legend at Waterstone's and other booksellers."
"We're therefore disappointed that, having been a key factor in the growth of the Harry Potter phenomenon since the first book was published, the book trade is effectively banned from selling the long-awaited e-book editions," he said.
