Fans of Harry Potter are keeping the magic alive online and in bookstores, schools, libraries and homes all across the country with fans re-reading the series and new fans starting at the beginning. There are anniversaries to celebrate, a new charity book in December from J.K. Rowling and now – the announcement from Scholastic that the paperback edition of J.K. Rowling’s bestselling and final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, (ISBN 0-545-13970-8; price $14.99), will be released on July 7, 2009. With an initial print run of 2 million copies, this will bring the total number of the seven Harry Potter books in print to over 143 million in the U.S. alone. The paperback edition follows the record-breaking release of the hardcover edition which hit stores at 12:01 on July 21, 2007 and has sold 14 million copies since then, making it the fastest selling book in publishing history.

“We have another big year planned for Harry,” said Ellie Berger, President of Trade, Scholastic. “As we look toward the tenth anniversary of the U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel, we are thrilled to continue to bring Harry Potter to fans of all ages in new and exciting ways.”