Booksellers are both anticipating and dreading the release of the final Harry Potter book this July,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At precisely midnight on July 21st a mind-boggling 12 million copies of the book will go on sale. And everyone is wondering, "who will fill J.K. Rowling's shoes now?"
At the chain stores, Barnes & Noble and Border's, and at Amazon.com, Harry Potter 7 is the largest pre-ordered book in history.
Ever since Goblet of Fire, fourth in the series, was launched at midnight July 8, 2000, booksellers have orchestrated increasingly elaborate book parties.
For Cammie Mannino of Halfway Down the Stairs Children's Book Shop in Rochester, Mich., Potter 7 is a mixed blessing: "Getting children to read is the most divine thing you can come up with. Then there's me as a bookseller — phew, here we go again. It's both of those."
Danielle Marshall of Powell's, an independent bookstore in Portland, Ore., says: "I can't tell whether I'm relieved or devastated, and that's on a personal and a sales level."
There are "any number of publishers who are ready and waiting to fill the void left by Harry Potter," says Marshall. "If I had a nickel for every book that has been marketed to me as 'this will fill the bill,' I would be drinking in St. Tropez."
Of course, this isn't really the end of Harry Potter. Says Barnes & Noble's Riggio: "We don't look at this as saying goodbye. As each new generation comes of age, it will discover these books. And the great thing about that is, all seven books will be in front of them."
This is a great opportunity for writers: someone's books will fill the void when there are no more Harry Potter adventures. Why shouldn't it be your books? Get writing!
