The buzz surrounding the final Harry Potter novel leaped up a notch this week, after U.S. publisher Scholastic announced a massive first print run and promotional campaign. But Raincoast Books, the Canadian publisher of the global hit series, is keeping its Potter plans under wraps for a bit longer.

The buzz is building for the final instalment of J.K. Rowling's monumentally successful Harry Potter series, which in the past 10 years has sold more than 325 million books worldwide.
(Ann Billingsley/AP)

"It's still a little early for us to be announcing details" about the Canadian promotion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Raincoast's marketing vice president Jamie Broadhurst told CBC Arts Online on Friday.

Scholastic announced on Wednesday that it is undertaking a multimillion dollar campaign to support the release of Deathly Hallows on July 21 and will publish an initial print run of 12 million copies — 1.2 million more than the initial run for 2005's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Raincoast, like U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, has opted not to reveal its initial print run of Deathly Hallows.

However, Broadhurst did emphasize the importance of an opening weekend when any Potter book is released.

"Unlike any other book, the fans of Harry Potter want the book right away, as quickly as possible," he said.

"For the first 12 months of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Broadhurst said, "somewhere in the order of 48 per cent of the total sales happened in the opening weekend."

At this point, Raincoast is currently finalizing details about upcoming release and a bevy of related events with booksellers across the country.

"The last time, in 2005, [there were] something in the order of 300 events and parties on the opening weekend across Canada. This time, we're expecting probably about 400-plus," Broadhurst said.

In July 2005, Half-Blood Prince, the penultimate title in author J.K. Rowling's seven-book series, became the fastest selling book ever. More than 650,000 copies of the title were purchased in Canada alone on its opening weekend, with millions more sold around the globe.

In 2005, there were about 300 Harry Potter-related events held in Canada to celebrate the release of Half-Blood Prince. This year, more than 400 are expected, according to Raincoast's Jamie Broadhurst.
(CP)

In the past 10 years, the first six books in the coming-of-age tale about a teen wizard have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 60 different languages.

Aside from the separate but also beloved film franchise, Rowling's magical Harry Potter universe has spawned everything from devoted fan sites online to video games to academically inclined conventions attended by adults who dissect all aspects of the books.

"Some of the most exciting things about the phenomenon of Harry Potter is all of the culture and all the fanbase stuff that has nothing to do with the corporate players," Broadhurst said.

On July 21, Raincoast will publish two hardcover versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: one featuring cover art for youth readers and another with a cover targeting adults. Random House of Canada will also release the audio edition of the book that day.

Raincoast's planned Canadian gift edition, featuring slightly different artwork, and a large-print version will likely be released in the summer.

Gaillimard Jeunesse, which publishes the French-language editions of the Potter titles in Canada, has not yet announced when it will issue its version of the final tome.

With files from the Associated Press.