Deathly Hallows Release Date

Is 7/7/07 the big day? According to the New York Times, "Harry Potter fans aching for the next, and final, volume of the young wizard’s story got some relief when the author, J. K. Rowling, disclosed the title, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” this month. But they are still on tenterhooks about exactly when the new book will arrive.

While there is no official publication date yet for the final book, industry watchers say it is widely expected to be released next year. Speculation in much of the Harry Potter fan base has focused on July 7, 2007, the seventh day of the seventh month of 2007 — a propitious date to introduce the seventh book in the series.

After Ms. Rowling announced the title on her Web site on Dec. 21, the independent fan site MuggleNet posted a point-by-point analysis of possible release dates. Fans who subscribe to the 07/07/07 theory point out that the numerical tag would not only be a catchy marketing trick, but also that July 7 this year falls on a Saturday, the same day of the week that the last three Potter books have been released. (Also, the villainous Lord Voldemort has a seven-part soul.)

The Harry Potter series has been a publishing phenomenon, with 300 million copies of the first six books in print, four films in release (a fifth is set for release next July) and a sizable fortune made each year in related merchandise. But the more pressing question for the publishing industry is whether the books will become perennial classic like “Charlotte’s Web” or the “Little House on the Prairie” series.