NZ Herald - Thursday Mar 29, 2012
The seven novels about J.K. Rowling's boy wizard are for sale as ebooks and audio books on the author's Pottermore website, the site's creators announced yesterday.
The books are available in English, in US and British editions, with the first three titles priced at US$7.99 or £4.99 (both about $9.75) for ebooks and US$29.99 or £17.99 for audio versions.
The site says French, Italian, German and Spanish editions will follow in the coming weeks.
The books are available only through the website, which says they are compatible with major electronic readers, including Amazon's Kindle, Sony's Reader and Barnes & Noble's Nook, and with tablets, mobile phones, PCs and ereaders on Google's Play.
The Harry Potter novels have sold 450 million copies, but Rowling for years resisted making the books available in digital form.
She announced last year that Potter ebooks would be sold through the Pottermore site, an interactive portal into Harry's magical world.
The full site, which combines elements of virtual encyclopaedia, computer games, social network and online store, is set to open in early April.
Its launch, originally announced for October, was delayed after testing with a limited number of users showed changes were needed.
Rowling's final Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published in 2007. The author said last month that she was working on a novel for adults, whose title and release date have not been disclosed.
- AP