Publication date for last Harry Potter book announced

February 2, 2007

J K Rowling, the author of the "Harry Potter" series, has revealed the release date of the seventh and final installment - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - July 21, 2007. Mary GrandPre, the illustrator of the first six books, will return to illustrate the new novel.

The book will be released worldwide at midnight by the publisher Scholastic. Huge crowds are expected around the world, and the book, since its first appearance on Amazon.co.uk, had risen to the number one sale for pre-orders. After the new book was announced, Amazon.com reported a surge of traffic occurred on their website. Amazon.com has called the novel "one of the most eagerly awaited books of all time".

J K Rowling recently wrote the following about her new book: "I'm now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more, I don't think anyone who has not been in a similar situation can possibly know how this feels: I am alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book (don't worry, I will.)"