MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
July 1-15, 2005 Edition
Barnes & Noble Pre-Orders
For New Harry Potter Book
Surpass 750,000
NEW YORK, NY/06/21/05Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) has announced that pre-orders for the new J. K. Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, total more than 750,000 at Barnes & Noble stores and at Barnes & Noble.com. The book goes on sale at the stroke of midnight, July 15th and Barnes & Noble stores nationwide will remain open past midnight to accommodate the fans that want to be the first to buy the book.
The bookseller also announced today that it will simulcast a special greeting from author J.K. Rowling live from Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, at 7:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, in the Union Square Barnes & Noble (33 East 17th Street) in New York City.
A highlight of the Midnight Magic party at Barnes & Noble Union Square will be a special appearance by Jim Dale, the famed actor responsible for bringing the Harry Potter characters to life on audio books, who will appear from 10:00 p.m. until midnight on Friday, July 15th. Mr. Dale will be hosting a reading and special surprise activities for fans of all ages.
“The Harry Potter series has shattered all records in publishing history, and the enormous amount of pre-orders to date confirm that the latest Harry Potter title will be the most popular yet,” said Steve Riggio, Chief Executive Officer, Barnes & Noble. “In fact, we predict that our pre-orders will top one million.”
Barnes & Noble is offering the title for the discounted price of $17.99, 40 percent off the list price ($16.19 for Barnes & Noble Members). The compact disc and audiocassettes for the unabridged book will also be available. Customers can place pre-orders at any Barnes & Noble store or online at Barnes & Noble.com ( www.bn.com).
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 821 bookstores in 50 states. For the third year in a row, the company is the nation’s top retail brand for quality, according to the EquiTrend Brand Study by Harris Interactive. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com ( www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.
