Harry Potter - Green?

Going Green, One Blockbuster Book at a Time
July 13, 2007
By Kimberly Maul

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows may have the largest first print-run of a book ever, but at least it is going green. Scholastic previously announced that the book will be printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber and 65 percent of the paper used in the printing will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
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Here are a few numbers to consider as anticipation builds for this unprecedented publishing phenomenon:

• 12 million — Total number of books in the first U.S. printing, the largest first printing of any book in history, beating out the runner-up by 1.2 million books. The runner-up was 2005's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which had a first printing of 10.8 million copies and sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours of its release, making it the fastest-selling book in history.

• 65 percent — The percentage of the paper used in the U.S. first printing of Deathly Hallows that will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), making Harry Potter's seventh installment the largest purchase of FSC-certified paper to be used in the printing of a single book title. All of the paper will contain at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber.

• 100,000 — Deluxe edition sets of Deathly Hallows available in the U.S., featuring an exclusive wraparound jacket and full-color frontispiece by illustrator Mary GrandPré, along with a foil-stamped slipcase. List price for the deluxe edition is $65, compared to $34.99 for the regular book, although both prices are being deeply discounted by many booksellers.

• 37, 10 and seven — The number of libraries, cities and weeks for the cross-country Knight Bus National Tour sponsored by Scholastic. The tour features a triple-decker purple bus decorated like the magical bus Harry rides in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Fans can add their thoughts about the series to a video journal when the bus stops in their town.

• 1,700 — Fans who will get to meet Rowling for a midnight book-signing party at London's Natural History Museum on July 21. Five hundred lucky winners, chosen at random, will also attend her midnight reading prior to the signing. And seven of these fortunate youngsters will be from the U.S., courtesy of an online sweepstakes from Scholastic (www.scholastic.com/harrypotter).

• 325 million — Total sales of the first six Harry Potter books to date, worldwide. • 120 million — Number of Harry Potter books in print in the U.S. alone.

• $3.5 billion — Total gross worldwide for the Harry Potter films (so far).

• 138 minutes — Reported running time for the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, to be released in the U.S. on July 11. Not bad, considering the length of the book (870 pages).

• 12 — Number of Harry Potter stamps to be released by the United Kingdom's Royal Mail. The stamps will feature the cover art from Bloomsbury's British editions of all seven novels, as well as the Hogwarts school crest and the emblems for each of its four houses.

• $265 million — Expected cost to build "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," a theme park set to open at Universal's Orlando Resort in 2009. Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the village of Hogsmeade, the mysterious Forbidden Forest and, of course, Hogwarts castle. "The plans I've seen look incredibly exciting, and I don't think fans of the books or films will be disappointed," Rowling says of the project.

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