Rowling, publisher reveal final Harry Potter title

Last Updated: Thursday, December 21, 2006 | 12:04 PM ET

CBC Arts

One of the world's most anticipated books now has a name: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Scholastic, author J.K. Rowling's U.S. publisher, released a brief statement Thursday announcing the title, the final instalment to the Scottish writer's phenomenally popular book series about the titular boy wizard.

Best-selling author J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at Radio City Music Hall in New York earlier this year.
(Ann Billingsley/ Associated Press)

Bloomsbury, the U.K. publisher of the books, confirmed the title.

No publication date or other details were announced. However, some have speculated that the book will be released in 2007.

In the final book, Harry is expected to engage in an all-out battle with his evil nemesis, Lord Voldemort.

Rowling also revealed the new title on her website, although to find it, fans must tackle a complicated online puzzle and then play a game of hangman.

On Tuesday, Rowling posted an entry on her online diary, discussing her work writing the final book.

"I'm writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more," Rowling wrote.

"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)."

She also said she has returned to writing in cafés while working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Rowling, now one of the world's most famous authors, wrote her first Harry Potter book in Edinburgh cafés 13 years ago.

Whenever her eldest daughter Jessica fell asleep, Rowling would put her into a carriage and wheel her to the nearest café, she previously said on the site.

Rowling's Harry Potter books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide and been translated into 47 languages. They have also spawned a hit movie series, with the fifth instalment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due out in July.