Scholastic to Publish Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Wed, 02/10/2016 - 09:29

(New York, NY – February 10, 2016) Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, announced today that it will publish a script book based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II, a new play by Jack Thorne. The Special Rehearsal Edition of the script book will be published in print in the United States and Canada at 12:01 a.m. on July 31, 2016. Published in hardcover under Scholastic’s Arthur A. Levine Books imprint, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (ISBN 978-1-338-09913-3; All Ages), the eighth Harry Potter story, will be priced at $29.99 U.S. and $39.99 Canada. The script eBook will be published by Pottermore simultaneously with the print editions by Scholastic in the US and Canada, and Little, Brown Book Group in the UK.

In making the announcement, Ellie Berger, President of Scholastic Trade, said, “As the U.S. print publisher, Scholastic introduced Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to American readers nearly 20 years ago and experienced firsthand the anticipation and excitement of the publication of each of the books over the years. We are thrilled to publish Harry Potter and the Cursed Child this summer.”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth Harry Potter story, and the first to officially be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30^th July 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.

The first seven Harry Potter stories, published by Scholastic in the U.S. between 1998 and 2007 have sold more than 160 million copies in the U.S., over 450 million copies worldwide, and are distributed in more than 200 territories, translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films.

To learn more about the Harry Potter books, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/harrypotter.

Analysis:

I think our own Meredith Tate says it best: "I am so happy about this!! It seemed so unfair that there would be a part of the canon Harry Potter story that would be inaccessible to most fans. Love this!" It just goes to show, you can't keep a good franchise down. Now that the script is going to be out there and published, how many high schools do you think will start putting this one on?

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