JK Rowling and Bill Bryson top the charts, while film tie-ins give Paula Hawkins and Jojo Moyes a second bite of the cherry – but this unpredictable year has also seen a welcome revival of humorous writingIt was a year when the No 1 book was a play script. When hyper-prolific James Patterson, dubbed the “library king” as Britain’s long-reigning most-borrowed author, could manage no higher than 60th place. When the anonymous, insanely difficult GCHQ Puzzle Book was 43rd, and so beat super-sellers like Patterson and Ian Rankin, not to mention all those much-hyped hygge books.The all-year sales rankings for 2016 are full of such surprises, as befits an unpredictable year, but also contain much that is comfortingly recognisable, such as the ghosts of Christmas charts past at the top. With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JK Rowling reclaims the No 1 spot that used to be reserved for her in the noughties, and her versatility is underlined by four other entries in various genres (12, 28, 64, 95). Bill Bryson reprised the round-Britain trip behind his mid-90s hit, Notes from a Small Island, in The Road to Little Dribbling (13) and the result is the list’s highest placed non-fiction title. Mary Berry (17), easily this year’s leading conventional cookery writer, was penning bestselling festive gifts long before either of them emerged. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
A look back at the magical journey through Harry Potter's history leading up to the release of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Local fans of the "Harry Potter" books and films series are gearing up this weekend for something they've long yearned for — one more journey to the wizarding world."Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," a book edition of a play debuting this weekend at London's West End Palace Theatre, will be... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2016-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Katherine Cowdrey on returning to the magic of Harry Potter as an adult with the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" play. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviews for the upcoming 'Potter' stage play are so far very positive. What about the show has so impressed reviewers? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic is printing 4.5m copies of playscript Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for the North American market, in the midst of record-breaking pre-sales ahead of its global release on 31st July. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The verdict is in for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", with reviewers hailing the two-part play "a dazzling duel of light and dark" (the Guardian), "a triumph" (the Telegraph), and "a magical experience tailor made for the stage, filled to the brim with fan service" (the Independent). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter fans, booksellers, and librarians are getting ready to party like it's 2007: Scholastic is prepping to release 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two' on July 31. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers are hoping that the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child later this month will offset the negative impact economic uncertainty has had on footfall following the Brexit vote. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They were supposed to be a secret, but when word leaked that the new "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in London was using real owls during performances, fans of the saga went wild on social media. Alas, the owls have officially flown the coop before the blockbuster West End production... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Theatre critics have responded enthusiastically to the first part of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which previewed at London’s Palace theatre last night (7th June). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus has acquired a non-fiction title by social media stars Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson, known on social media as Jack & Jack. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers are plotting a range of spellbinding evenings across the UK ahead of the release of JK Rowling’s "eighth Harry Potter book”, the play script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s been 19 years since the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and boy does it show. The first images of upcoming West End stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” written by English playwright Jack Thorne and based on a story from Thorne and “Potter” scribe J.K. Rowling,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of JK Rowling’s much-loved books jump 133%, boosted by illustrated edition, contributing to 8% profit rise at publisherHarry Potter is still working his magic for the publisher Bloomsbury after nearly 20 years, with sales more than doubling over the past year thanks to a new illustrated... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Big Green Bookshop is to donate all profits from the sales of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) to local schools to enable them to buy books for their libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British surveillance agency GCHQ intervened with the launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A chair that author JK Rowling sat on while writing the first two Harry Potter books is sold at a New York auction for nearly $400,000 (£283,000). Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday is likely to draw huge crowds, including adults who grew up reading the books by J.K. Rowling and teens who watched the eight movies that followed. If you plan to brave the Potterfest, here are some... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In hero-quest terms, the recovery of the Sorcerer's Stone was Harry Potter's first big win, even though he didn't get to keep it. By the time Harry woke up after his first battle with You Know Who, the stone, with all its life-extending and gold-producing properties, had, in fact, been destroyed.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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