Booksellers Hoping For Some Magic From Beedle the Bard

Posted on December 3, 2008

The book industry is hoping that the midnight release tonight of J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard will help invigorate book sales. The book is being officially launched at the National Library of Scotland. Edingburgh school kids will get to attend a tea party that is being hosted by Rowling. Bookstores are hosting special events and opening at midnight in an attempt to lure in fans to buy the new Potter book.

But bookshops across the country are opening at midnight to cater for fans desperate to get their hands on a copy of Beedle the Bard. The 128-page book is already known to Potter enthusiasts as the volume which Hogwart's headmaster Albus Dumbledore left to Hermione Granger in the final Potter novel.
"We expect it to crash into the number one slot tomorrow and it will be very difficult to dislodge it this side of Christmas," said Waterstone's spokesman Jon Howells. "It would take magic of Voldemort proportions to kick it off the number one slot."
Waterstone's is opening its flagship London Piccadilly branch from 10pm this evening, with 400 fans flying in from Australia, New Zealand, America and Europe to attend the event. The store is to feature a live Mugglenet podcast, magical entertainment and Harry Potter characters for fans to meet. Waterstone's branches across the UK will also open early tomorrow morning for children to buy the book before school.

Proceeds from the book go to The Children's High Level Group (CHLG), a charity co-founded by J.K. Rowling which campaigns for the rights of eastern European children. Rowling has waived her royalty payments from the books, saying "I hope that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will not only be a welcome Christmas present to Harry Potter fans, but an opportunity to give these abandoned children a voice."