Wed Jul 18, 2007 — by Andrew Wheeler

Scream, Harry Potter, Scream!

The case of the stolen Deathly Hallows

Various torrent sites, and others, have posted what are claimed to be scans of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, implying that either a few copies of the US edition have escaped the strict security measures or that some sneaky hacker has Mad Photoshop Skillz. This has caused just one or two small news stories, such as:

• The LA Times examines the whole issue, including Scholastic’s efforts to get the illegal postings taken down.
• Time magazine also has an article on the potential leak.
• Forbes looks at the leak and other sources of possible spoilers.
• MSNBC also ran a story about the scans.
• The Sydney Morning Herald used far too many cutesy Potter references in their story about the pirating of Deathly Hallows.
• And, as usual, no story is official until The New York Times takes note of it, so the leak is now real.

The Boston Globe runs another countdown story, this time quoting the Massachusetts governor, who claims to be a big Potter fan. (And it may even be true, though any time a politician claims to love something that millions of his constituents are currently doing, it has to be a bit suspect.)

Peace Arch News, man, gives the South Surrey spin, man, on Pottermania, man.

The Sydney Morning Herald wants to let the book speak for itself.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that Deathly Hallows will be released on Saturday, June 21st in Israel as well – even though Saturday is the Jewish Shabbat, and various Orthodox groups in the country are protesting. The Times of India has a longer, more detailed story. And the Times (of London) has also filed a report on the story.

The San Jose Mercury News reports on the release of the Royal Mail’s Harry Potter stamps, available now.

The LA Times interviews a couple of Potterheads about their hopes for the book and their feelings about waiting.

The Salt Lake Tribune lists the Potter parties on Friday in their area.

The Hindustan Times reports that the eternal floating Harry Potter party has come to Delhi, with celebrations at stores there expected to be more elaborate than for the last book.

The Church of England sees Deathly Hallows as an opportunity to proselytize to the heathens.

CNNMoney has found a line forming at a Borders store in Mission Viejo, California.

The Independent covers Asda’s apology to Bloomsbury – which went something like, “We’re sorry you got so annoyed when we accused you of profiteering. Now would you please let us sell Deathly Hallows on Saturday?” – and of the widespread belief among booksellers that they can’t make any more on Deathly Hallows. (Economics 101: if you can’t sell a product at a given price and still make a profit, you can either raise the price, drop the product, or make your money on other items. You’d think a nation of shopkeepers would understand this stuff.)

Sky News has a short article entirely about Asda’s apology and Bloomsbury’s agreement to ship the books.

J.K. Rowling has asked every store, worldwide, selling Deathly Hallows to also display pictures of missing four-year-old Briton Madeleine McCann, who disappeared on holiday in Portugal.

CTV.ca reports on Raincoast’s efforts to keep Deathly Hallows a secret in Canada. (Aren’t Canadians too well-mannered to read a book before the on-sale date, anyway?)

Reuters investigates the world of Harry Potter on the Internet.

Nicholas Lezard, who blogs for the Guardian, really hates Harry Potter. (And/or is incredibly jealous; take your pick.)

Nicholas Clee, another Guardian blogger (are they all required to have the name Nicholas?), looks at the expectations for the Post-Potter world.

GalleyCat runs a YouTube parody: “Welcome Back, Potter.”

If you’re worried about Harry Potter offsets, you’d better go here, you dirty hippie, you.

David Louis Edleman channels The Princess Bride in an attempt to divine what will happen in Deathly Hallows.

Charles Taylor of the LA Times thinks that the success of the Harry Potter books proves the elite literary critics wrong: reading books for pleasure is not dying. (But the same might not necessarily be true for the books those critics prefer.)

Terence Blacker, writing in The Independent, seems to think that it was publishers that destroyed the New Book Agreement, so the massive discount wars on Deathly Hallows is their fault. Curious.

The Los Angeles Times notes with surprise that adults are actually reading Harry Potter books!

The LA Times also chatted with critic Lee Siegel of the New Republic, who finds the Harry Potter books more serious and adult than much supposedly adult literature.

Marketing Magazine wonders what comes next for Harry’s Canadian publisher, Raincoast.

[some links via GalleyCat]

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