- 1 Writing Systems
- 2 The Sacred Book
- 3 The Ancient Book
- 4 The History of the Book in Byzantium
- 5 The European Medieval Book
- 6 The European Printing Revolution
- 7 The Book as Symbol
- 8 The Transmission of Jewish Knowledge through MSS and Printed Books
- 9 Missionary Printing
- 10 Paper
- 11 The Technologies of Print
- 12 The Economics of Print
- 13 The Manuscript after the Coming of Print
- 14 Printed Ephemera
- 15 Children’s Books
- 16 The History of Illustration and its Technologies
- 17 Bookbinding
- 18 Theories of Text, Editorial Theory, and Textual Criticism
- 19 The Electronic Book
- 20a The History of the Book in Britain, c.1475–1800
- 20b The History of the Book in Britain, 1801–1914
- 20c The History of the Book in Britain from 1914
- 21 The History of the Book in Ireland
- 22 The History of the Book in France
- 23 The History of the Book in the Low Countries
- 24 The History of the Book in Germany
- 25 The History of the Book in Switzerland
- 26 The History of the Book in the Nordic Countries
- 27 The History of the Book in the Iberian Peninsula
- 28 The History of the Book in Italy
- 29 The History of the Book in Modern Greece, c.1453–2000
- 30 The History of the Book in Austria
- 31 The History of the Book in Hungary
- 32 The History of the Book in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
- 33 The History of the Book in Poland
- 34 The History of the Book in the Baltic States
- 35 The Slavonic Book in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
- 36 The History of the Book in the Balkans
- 37 The History of the Book in Sub-Saharan Africa
- 38 The History of the Book in the Muslim World
- 39 The History of the Book in the Indian Subcontinent
- 40 The History of the Book in China
- 41 The History of the Book in Korea
- 42 The History of the Book in Japan
- 43a The History of the Book in Southeast Asia (1): The Islands
- 43b The History of the Book in Southeast Asia (2): The Mainland
- 44 The History of the Book in Australia
- 45 The History of the Book in New Zealand
- 46 The History of the Book in Latin America (including Incas, Aztecs, and the Caribbean)
- 47 The History of the Book in Canada
- 48 The History of the Book in America
Harry Potter
- Source:
- The Oxford Companion to the Book
Harry Potter
Phenomenally successful British children’s book series by J. K. Rowling published 1997–2007. The seven titles, starring the boy wizard Harry Potter, began their publishing lives modestly, with Rowling’s *literary agent struggling to find a publisher, before the eventual acquisition of the first book by *Bloomsbury for a small *advance. By the time of the midnight publication of the final book—commercially, the biggest single publishing event in history—the Harry Potter series had become an unprecedented global phenomenon, shifting 2.7 million copies in 24 hours in the UK, and with 12 million *advance copies printed in the US where *Scholastic has been the publisher of the series since 1999. After the first novel became a bestseller, the publication of later titles was carefully orchestrated, with strict embargoes and release times encouraging media speculation and mass reading events. Official and unofficial online communities, including fan fiction sites, contributed heavily to the series’ growth. Later volumes were published simultaneously in bindings for adults and children. *Pirated and *counterfeit versions of the books were legion in markets such as China.
The series benefited from canny marketing, effective distribution, global rights sales, merchandising, and multimedia *adaptation. Although some critics disputed the books’ literary merit, children and adults around the world voraciously consumed the books, overturning late 20th-century predictions of the ‘death of the book’.
Claire Squires
- 1 Writing Systems
- 2 The Sacred Book
- 3 The Ancient Book
- 4 The History of the Book in Byzantium
- 5 The European Medieval Book
- 6 The European Printing Revolution
- 7 The Book as Symbol
- 8 The Transmission of Jewish Knowledge through MSS and Printed Books
- 9 Missionary Printing
- 10 Paper
- 11 The Technologies of Print
- 12 The Economics of Print
- 13 The Manuscript after the Coming of Print
- 14 Printed Ephemera
- 15 Children’s Books
- 16 The History of Illustration and its Technologies
- 17 Bookbinding
- 18 Theories of Text, Editorial Theory, and Textual Criticism
- 19 The Electronic Book
- 20a The History of the Book in Britain, c.1475–1800
- 20b The History of the Book in Britain, 1801–1914
- 20c The History of the Book in Britain from 1914
- 21 The History of the Book in Ireland
- 22 The History of the Book in France
- 23 The History of the Book in the Low Countries
- 24 The History of the Book in Germany
- 25 The History of the Book in Switzerland
- 26 The History of the Book in the Nordic Countries
- 27 The History of the Book in the Iberian Peninsula
- 28 The History of the Book in Italy
- 29 The History of the Book in Modern Greece, c.1453–2000
- 30 The History of the Book in Austria
- 31 The History of the Book in Hungary
- 32 The History of the Book in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
- 33 The History of the Book in Poland
- 34 The History of the Book in the Baltic States
- 35 The Slavonic Book in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
- 36 The History of the Book in the Balkans
- 37 The History of the Book in Sub-Saharan Africa
- 38 The History of the Book in the Muslim World
- 39 The History of the Book in the Indian Subcontinent
- 40 The History of the Book in China
- 41 The History of the Book in Korea
- 42 The History of the Book in Japan
- 43a The History of the Book in Southeast Asia (1): The Islands
- 43b The History of the Book in Southeast Asia (2): The Mainland
- 44 The History of the Book in Australia
- 45 The History of the Book in New Zealand
- 46 The History of the Book in Latin America (including Incas, Aztecs, and the Caribbean)
- 47 The History of the Book in Canada
- 48 The History of the Book in America
