Press Release

For immediate release

AVID READERS PREDICT LEAKS WILL SPOIL FINAL HARRY POTTER BOOK

(Victoria, BC – 24 July 2006) A significant number of Harry Potter fans are resigned to the fact that the ending of JK Rowling’s final installment will be public knowledge before publication, according to a worldwide poll by AbeBooks.com.

AbeBooks.com - the world’s largest online marketplace for new, used, rare and out of print books - questioned 608 avid Harry Potter readers in more than 20 countries and 20 per cent expect the storyline to be ‘spoilt’ by a leak.

Last year, the publisher struggled to keep Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince under wraps until its official publication on 16 July:

• In the UK, a former security guard was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he stole two copies from a distribution center. He tried to sell the books to newspapers.
• UK bookmakers also suspended bets on which character would die after a high number of wagers on one character were made in the town where the book may have been printed;
• A supermarket in Vancouver, Canada, sold at least a dozen copies too early;
• A Chicago drugstore also prematurely sold one copy but the buyer returned the book unread;
• Thanks to the time difference between the UK and North America, Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper published a review by UK-based journalists on 16 July and on its website at 9am;

Many of those polled feared a leak would be motivated by money and be spread rapidly via the Web:

• “JK has been very good with keeping the story under wraps. If it ever became known, it would be from something like printers or delivery drivers,” said Nevena in Oxford, UK;
• “Nothing stays secret with this wretched Internet,” said Julie in Warwickshire, UK;
• “JK will write a number of endings and release a couple of wrong ones,” predicted Sara in Burke, Virginia;
• “Too many hackers and dishonest people in the world,” said Janelle in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Rowling has already said two key characters will die in the final book, but the poll’s respondents were unsure whether Harry himself will be killed off – 73 per cent predicted the demise of arch villain Lord Voldemort, 35 per cent said Harry and 32 per cent went for Hogwarts teacher Snape.

“Last year, Harry Potter fans were dismayed there were so many opportunities to spoil the Half-Blood Prince’s plot,” said Lisa Stevens, VP of marketing at AbeBooks.com. “The interest in the final book is already intense and fans don’t want to hear the storyline mentioned in conversation or see it printed in newspapers or in blogs, but a significant number are already concerned about leaks.”

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About AbeBooks.com
AbeBooks.com is the world’s largest online marketplace for books, with over 80 million new, used, rare, and out-of-print titles listed for sale by more than 13,500 independent booksellers from around the world. AbeBooks has millions of customers who purchase up to 25,000 books a day from its 5 global websites. A true internet success story, AbeBooks has been selling books online since 1996, and is a private company based in Victoria, BC Canada, with offices in Germany, Spain and USA. Internet Retailer magazine ranked AbeBooks at No. 67 among North America’s online retailers in June 2006.

Contact:
Richard Davies, PR & Publicity Mgr., AbeBooks.com
Office Ph: 250-412-3238 / e-mail rdavies@abebooks.com